Hello - pop in here once in a while for advice, and am back again. S2 lives and works in DC and has been considering, while he’s still young and unattached, a major move - perhaps to South America - for a year or so, to experience living and working in another culture, learning another language (or improving his Spanish), gaining life experience in general. He is considering doing this on his own or perhaps with some sort of service group. He is extremely interested in habitat preservation, renewable and alternative energy sources. Does anyone here know of any groups - esp. environmental ones - with opportunities for either volunteers or paid staff? Any suggestions would be welcome - thanks!
A couple of S2’s buddies from college (environmental science majors) did the Peace Corp program before starting masters degrees. There are different sectors of the Peace Corp, this is the link to the environmental sector.
https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/what-volunteers-do/#environment
There is a website with interesting jobs and internships. I just can’t think of it right now! Google opportunities in Ecuador which has an amazing variety of ecological projects and experiences. It is a very diverse place environmentally.
Here’s one of the cooler ones IMO
http://www.conservacionpatagonica.org/home.htm
Try the Society for Conservation Biology Job Board (http://careers.conbio.org/jobs/) and the TAMU wildlife job board (http://wfscjobs.tamu.edu/job-board/),. Both frequently have ads for volunteers, field techs, etc. with researchers or nonprofits. Many abroad in interesting places.
I had a friend who did Peace Corps in Mexico, working for their equivalent of the National Parks Service. So there are definitely opportunities there, but it’s a longer commitment.
If he will consider staying in the US, the Student Conservation Association (SCA) is really terrific (https://www.thesca.org/). It was modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps and is similar to Americorps, but is focused on conservation and the environment.