(Newswire.net — July 22, 2020) — Ever since the world has been hit by the Corona Virus and a global pandemic has put everything to pause, we’ve been hearing how nature is rekindling itself and our Earth is healing, as we humans are stuck indoors. But once everything gets back to normal, and we can be carefree again to travel to the farthest corners of the globe to satiate our wanderlust – all we can do is, be Responsible Travelers and do our bit in protecting and conserving the wildlife as volunteers.
In the post-pandemic era, we can travel with a purpose, reducing our ecological footprint by taking part in activities that are ethical and sustainable. Whether it’s rehabilitating orangutans in Borneo, looking after lions in South Africa, nurturing turtles in Costa Rica, or making sure that elephants in Thailand are properly cared for – there are so many projects available across the world, where you can make a real difference. You might even end up working with some of the world’s most endangered species, helping to secure a brighter future for them.
Of course, the importance of being a volunteer for a wildlife conservation project is immense. In this article, let’s focus on a few and try to understand how it’ll impact you and the world, at large.
Get to know more about the place, in general.
While the tourists would mostly focus on visiting a country and doing the regular stuff, as a volunteer traveler, you’d get to delve deeper and have the scope to indulge in knowing more about the place – it’s culture and heritage, the people and their lifestyle. It’ll broaden your horizon, making you empathize with people in a faraway land who are completely different from those of your homeland, yet beautiful in their own ways.
You get to travel to exotic and remote locations.
Wildlife conservation projects are often based in remote locations, where you’d have a chance of living with the locals amidst wilderness or maybe by the beaches, soaking in the sun! (Sounds exciting!) Imagine how beautiful it would be to live and work at an elephant village in the outskirts of Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand. You’ll wake up every single day to see the gentle giants all around you – and spend your time with them. Feeding them, taking them out on walks, bathing them and often, you’d also get a chance to learn how to make paper out of elephant poop!
It’ll be a great way to learn more about the species you choose to work with.
As you take up a project, you’ll be getting hands-on experience of working with professional conservationists or locals who are engaged in that particular conservation work for decades. Thus, it’ll open up a window for you to learn more about the species – about their life expectancy, their habitat, and nature, their mannerisms, so on and so forth. You would also get to learn more about how they are threatened by human behavior and what needs to be done to protect them.
Make a difference in the lives of animals.
We’re living in a time when our planet is in crisis. Species are continuing to be placed on the extinct or endangered list, and if we don’t act now, many more will be added. There’s no way around it, animals need our help in their survival on this planet. Volunteering on a wildlife conservation project is an excellent way to make a difference in the lives of animals and providing them with the care they deserve.
Meet like-minded people from around the world.
Volunteering abroad is a great way to make new friends, especially if you are traveling solo. The wonderful thing about joining a conservation project is that you are guaranteed to meet people who are as passionate as you are about working with animals. Working closely with a group of people on such a unique experience can help foster lasting and meaningful friendships. You will get to learn about different cultures from all over the world, and travel back home having made some amazing new friends.
Challenge yourself and develop your skills.
Volunteering on a wildlife conservation project enables you to know about your skills, make the best use of them, and stretch yourself to learn new ones from the professionals you’ll work with, as well as your peers. Every day will bring new challenges, and coping with them will eventually endow you with more knowledge and perseverance. A volunteer trip isn’t just an outward journey, but an inward journey as well.
Back in 2015, the United Nations had announced it’s agenda for sustainable development over the next 15 years. There are 17 goals, and most can be contributed to sustainable and responsible volunteering programs. Instead of relying on your government to fix these issues, get involved in a sustainable volunteer program so we can all contribute in our own ways, in the post-pandemic era.
To say the least, being a volunteer, you can contribute towards the betterment of the world’s problems and play an active part in the global community, while protecting the wildlife.