*grants available*

*internships available at the same price as volunteering*

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The whales and dolphins of the Atlantic Oceans and adjacent seas are under threat as never before- from populations of Blue whales and Right whales on the verge of extinction in the North Atlantic, to Belugas decimated through pollution in the St Lawrence, Vaquita reduced to dozens rather than hundreds through by-catch and river dolphins in Brazil being destroyed by deforestation and pollution. The illegal use of drift nets, by-catch, continued hunting, the devastating impact of plastic pollution on the marine environment and the poisoning of our oceans with toxic chemicals are devastating our environment and nature and bringing many of our cetacean species to the very brink of extinction.

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There are two key volunteer tasks on the whale watching boats:

1. Monitoring and researching resident Pilot Whales and Bottlenose Dolphins, and Migratory species. Over one third of all cetacean species either reside in or pass through Canarian waters.  Our databases span thirty continuous years and contain over 13,000 observations making them amongst the most complete sources of information on cetaceans in the world. Volunteers have used the data for thousands of dissertations from ‘A’ level to PhD. 

2. Raising awareness of conservation issues with the one million European tourists who see nature at its very best when enjoying their whale watching experience. Our conservation programme is aimed at raising awareness of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on the marine environment. The  goal in 2019 is to contribute 1,000,000 signatures to the Avaaz’ on-line petition on Plastic Pollution, to be presented to the United Nations at the end of the year.

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A typical week would involve three days working, one or two days on familiarisation trips and one or two days on project assignment. Weekdays are pretty intense with early starts and reflection and project meetings going on into the evening. Weekends are free although for those on short visits, one or two weeks, programmes take in weekends to ensure the most is extracted from the experience- plenty of time to sleep when you get home!!

This being said, programmes are totally flexible and built around each individual.

 

A Pastoral Care Manager responsible for the general well-being of all participants whilst in Tenerife, from sleeping arrangements through to menus, visits to the Medical Centre and general counselling. All participants help with cooking and cleaning. Over-riding all the above will be a People Manager who will be at initial meetings including interviews, will develop individual programmes, escort participants in the field, and liaise with all paperwork and reporting requirements at the end of the project. She will be each participants route into all aspects of the programme.

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Activities

There are A LOT of extra activities to get involved with!!

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If you decide to adopt one of these activities as your project with us whilst in Tenerife then you will be linked to the Eco-Tourism Team in Tenerife who will work with you. There will be three core goals: A global analysis of the market for the chosen activity and identification of appropriate 'routes to market'; the creation of a short web video on the activity with specialist equipment, training and mentoring provided; A presentation to the chosen activity provider (s) of the opportunities open to them and requirements of them should they wish to avail themselves of these opportunities.

ALL incoming volunteers can access these activities as part of their volunteer experience with us and can discuss them with the Eco- Tourism team before arrival.