Research Assistant: Marine Conservation Volunteering in Carriacou, Grenada

As a 19 year old single female I was a little apprehensive about traveling to a Caribbean island I had never heard of. Talking to the team before I arrived they assured me it was safe and explained the travel plans. When on the island and meeting the crew and the other volunteers it was brilliant. Safe, fun and very very informative. I learned so much in a hand on way. Not too much study and no heavy lectures. Plenty of time to party and socialise.... although to be honest we were typically too tired after diving to do too much party.

The team at CRB are fantastic too. Very knowledgeable, very passionate, and very real. Good vibes all round.

I wrote a review but realized I only spoke about Deefer Diving, the dive shop that works with Caribbean Reef Buddy. But I wanted to make sure I wrote a review about them too because they are an amazing organization! When looking for a program and where I wanted to volunteer, I read reviews about other places that didn't really offer any educational value. This is not the case here! I learned SO much and really felt like I made an impact helping their marine conservation work! They are very organized too!

After some planes, planes and more planes you arrive at this tiny island in the middle of the Caribbean that is filled with amazing people and nature that is a must visit. Everyone at the dive shop is professional, knowledgable and friendly making for a great and worthwhile experience. I stayed for 2 weeks in July for Lionfish management and reef monitoring and learnt so much about the local reef environment and its challenges. The diving was top tier with so much beautiful marine life. I cannot wait to go back!!

This was my first time traveling abroad alone. From the very start everyone was welcoming. The dive shop is located right across the street from the beach. The dive shop is very organized and the dives are throughly planed out and explained to you. I enjoyed every second of diving and being on the island and around the dive shop and I’m already thinking about when I can get back. There is plenty of spots to eat near the dive shop. There is also hikes that you can do on the island which have amazing views.

Scuba diving and marine conservation have always been on my bucket list. I'm so glad I found Caribbean Reef Buddy and was able to tick two things on my bucket list. I've learned so much from this experience. From scuba diving to protecting marine life. This is my first time to get involved in Marine Conservation and the program gave me so much enlightenment how climate change has been affecting the marine life. I would definitely come back one day and be more involved in their program. Proud Reef Buddy here!

What can I say in 500 characters? I came to Carriacou on a 3 week program thinking I'd learn to dive and have a little fun. I'd never dived before, but love the ocean so wanted to give it a try. The first week was intense and I had to overcome many personal hurdles. Particularly with the scuba equipment. But it passed in a blur and then we were right into the project work.

I only managed to do 2 of the project weeks. So only touched on coral regen and predator monitoring. I only wished I could have stayed longer to get more involved.

The key to this thing though was the people you meet. Made some amazing friends who I hope to be able to see again.

I had a great time during my 4 weeks of volunteering with Caribbean Reef Buddy. On my first week, we did training where I got my required diving qualification/certification. For the remaining 3 weeks, we did various marine conservation activities (different projects every week --- while SCUBA diving) such as predator monitoring, lionfish containment, coral micro-fragmentation & propagation, and reef monitoring. I got to meet new people from the volunteer program as well as locals (and expats) from the island. The locals in Carriacou are very friendly and the staff of Caribbean Reef Buddy are all great. All in all, it's a life-changing experience and I had so much fun. I enjoyed every bit of their program!

I'd just completed a degree in Marine Ecology and was thinking about what to do next. I saw this program advertised and decided to come down to Carriacou for a month before thinking about applying for work to get some headspace after exams. It was without doubt the best thing to have done.

Carriacou is one of those really magical, unspoilt gems of an island. Its warm, friendly, and the locals really know how to party too. I always felt very safe, and the group of volunteer on the program I was on all commented on the same thing. We had a blast!

The program was intense too! We were diving practically every day, 5 or 6 days a week and I felt like we were really making a difference. The work we were doing on the coral nursery and out planting elkhorn corals was really interesting. Of course lionfish hunting was also pretty cool too. I feel I learned so much about the challenges faced relating to the implementation of these types of projects which I never covered in my studies, and certainly never would have thought about. Particularly social and cultural differences in attitudes and approaches. In my month here I feel I learned more than in a whole semester back home.