Volunteer in the Galapagos with IOI
- Ecuador
- Galapagos
About Program
Intercultural Outreach Initiative (IOI) is located on Isabela Island, in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Founded in 2006, IOI’s vision is to help establish an ecologically sustainable and socially stable local economy in the Galapagos by supporting education, conservation and social development. We have made some incredibly positive and impactful contributions to the local community and we are able to continue doing so with the help and support of volunteers that want to make a real difference.
At IOI Galapagos we have 6 different volunteer positions available:
1. Ecotourism Volunteer (Galapagos National Park)
2. Endemic Plant Species Nursery (Galapagos National Park)
3. Giant Tortoise Breeding Center Volunteer
4. Turtle Nest Monitoring Volunteer
5. Sustainable Agriculture Volunteer
6. Social Media Volunteer
Video and Photos
Diversity & Inclusion
Impact
Our Net-Zero 2025 Strategy extends our current 2021 carbon-neutral initiative which inset all of our Scope 1 (direct) and 2 (indirect) emissions, and offset all our Scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 emissions “are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but that the organization indirectly impacts in its value chain” (EPA 2022).
IOI’s programmatic on-site emissions, Scopes 1 and 2, were inset through our own conservation efforts. Our Scope 3 emissions, mostly created by travel to our faculty-led study abroad programs and volunteering opportunities, will be mitigated through collaboration with external providers.
To provide international education programs that support the education, conservation, and social development of isolated communities by assisting local institutions in sustainably handling the human-environmental intersection.
What We Do
We strive to help establish ecological sustainability and social stability in our host communities by applying thoughtful assistance and expertise to local needs – financed by educational travel programs.
How We Do It
1. We offer volunteer opportunities in conservation, education, and social development, that provide our participants with life changing experiences, and our local partners with funding, expertise, and human power on site.
2. We offer study abroad programs in which students spend up to three months studying the local environment and learning the local culture.
3. We develop and implement outreach projects with local institutions that address pressing conservation, education, and social development needs via fundraising and grants.
Program Highlights
- Galapagos Islands.
- Conservation.
- Service Learning.
- Full immersion.
- Cultural knowledge.
Popular Programs
The farms of Isabela Island are starting work in greenhouses to optimize production year-round in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. The highland town of Tomás de Berlanga is about 10 miles uphill from the coastal part of town, on the side of Volcano Sierra Negra, the highlands are fertile, lush lands with rich volcanic soil - perfect for agriculture! Volunteers will learn local techniques for sustainable tropical agriculture and will help to create food sovereignty.
As the Ecotourism Volunteer, and according to your skills and experience, you will help the Galapagos National Park in tasks related to:
The management and monitoring of visitors and visitor sites near Puerto Villamil
Translation and design of English language visitor information
Graphic design for promotional and educational material
Running satisfaction questionnaires to visitors
Registering tourism related information and generating statistical databases from your surveys
Volunteer at the Galápagos National Park and get the chance to provide assistance at the tortoise breeding center. You will be a member of the research and zookeeping staff. Take responsibility for taking care of and measuring the shells of tortoises for their growth charts, as well as informing tourists of rules and regulations and other necessary tasks at the center, depending on individual skillset.
Sea turtle nest monitors walk a 2km stretch of Isabela beach during early light and late evening shifts. During your patrol you will collect baseline data for the Galapagos National Park to support the management plan of the local beach.
Monday-Sunday monitor walks; all volunteers have 2 days off during the week.
5-6 hours/day: 6:00AM-9:00AM and anywhere from 8:00PM-01:00AM; 4-6PM Kikuyo removal.
The morning patrol is 4kms; the night patrol requires walks the beach twice totaling 8kms.
As an IOI social media volunteer, you will generate photo and video, as well as text that accurately and meaningfully captures the nature of IOI’s international presence and impact. This will include:
Collaborating with IOI team members to highlight the work that most thoroughly demonstrates and illuminates its lasting, positive effects.
Develop environmental education material that educates tourists, as well as the local population, about the surrounding habitats.
Help the Galapagos National Park revitalize its endemic plant species nursery located in the highlands of Isabela. This facility is crucial for conserving the island's unique plant species facing threats from invasive plants, pollution, and climate change, through research, reforestation, and education.
Tasks will include:
-Assist park rangers with transplanting seedlings, pruning, and preparing nursery beds.
-Irrigation system maintenance
-Management of plagues and invasive species
Related Programs
Questions & Answers
Alumni Interviews
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Staff Interviews
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Response from Intercultural Outreach Initiative (IOI)
Delaney, thank you for the wonderful review. We're elated to hear you had such a good time, learned a lot, and want to come back. When you do, we got a 20% discount waiting for you (and all other returning volunteers and students) - hopefully soon!