Do you love the rainforest and want to gain conservation and leadership skills?
Join us at our Merapoh Rainforest Station, on the borders of Malaysia’s Taman Negara (National Park) as a Rainforest Volunteer Co-ordinator. The conservation work is focused on anti-poaching patrols to protect tigers, elephants, sun bears, tapirs and other threatened species.
There is also a research team to study arboreal primates, birds and other iconic species. The community aspect includes supporting a semi-nomadic aboriginal tribe, called the Bateq. They make the rainforest their home, but also need skills to interact and survive in the modern world.
Role (Voluntary, Full time, Fixed Term) As the Rainforest Volunteer Coordinator you will be responsible for helping the project leader to organize the volunteers during the programme. You will often be the first point of contact for participating volunteers. You will be expected to help on jungle trekking and research focused work, as well as teaching.
Key Duties as Rainforest Volunteer Co-ordinator:
Volunteer Management Contact the volunteers at least 4 weeks before they arrive to confirm their arrival date and time and discuss suitable pick up arrangements and collect all passports for entrance permit application
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Do you care about wildlife conservation and want to gain digital marketing skills? Application deadline: Ongoing, so apply now Location: Merapoh, Pahang, Malaysia Status: Volunteer internship Hours: Full-time Term: 6 months (with option for paid employment from month 7) Start…
An awesome opportunity to perform conservation diving and gain practical work experience by assisting the research team at the Marine Research Station in the beautiful Perhentian Islands. This is an established project in partnership with the national Marine Parks Department, Reef Check Malaysia and with input from University Malaysia Terengganu and Plymouth University.
Traditionally, it has been true that the route to a job in conservation was via a university degree in Life Sciences, such as Biology, Botany, (Marine) Ecology and Zoology. Over the decades, the number of degree subjects has expanded to include interdisciplinary courses ranging from environmental management to conservation biology and sustainable development. Worldwide, there is now a huge number of undergraduate and Master’s courses on offer involving environmental stewardship and sustainability, as this blog post indicates. Academics have observed that there is a generational shift towards a new type of sustainability scholar with a more holistic view than the older scientists.
The growth of university degrees in conservation, especially in developing countries for example in Asia, is a positive trend. However, for many students the cost of a university education has increased even more, so they wonder whether it is worth making such an investment in a university degree? This is a valid question given the current competitive job market all over the world. The answer is tricky and almost always goes “it depends..”. The latter means it is not just a matter of finances, but also what career path you would like to follow, based on your own interests, and at what level.
Our advice, for those who are genuinely interested in working in conservation, is to educate yourself about the diverse career paths from an early age. This can be through school clubs or local projects, and especially by talking to people who already work in conservation. In this career guide, we have identified seven broad directions, ranging from fieldwork to NGO jobs to media-careers. Many of these opportunities do require a degree, however there are certainly exceptions, and we will highlight these with real-life examples throughout the guide.
The bottom-line remains that a university degree certainly helps when applying for jobs, but employers also look for work experience and skills. This is where volunteering can be very useful, but make sure to select high-quality projects that can provide plenty of such relevant experience and skills. If studying at Uni is not for you, then there are certainly new options that are based on vocational training and work experience.
Communication is a vital part of conservation. It is needed within teams to achieve a common vision and goals, and it is necessary to address a wider audience. Although conservation science is evolving, not many conservationists have professional marketing communication skills. Through this pioneering conservation marketing study internship, we aim to nurture future ecological leaders as skillful communicators.
How to decide what is the right conservation career
‘What’s the right conservation career for me?’ is a question we’re commonly asked. Nature conservation is a diverse and expanding field, but there’s one common thread for all practitioners: an absolute passion for nature and its wildlife.
Apart from this closeness to nature, there are only a few other general traits, as there really is no definitive list of competencies for conservation professionals. Certainly, good communications skills to facilitate team work or engage different audiences are needed, as conservation is just as much about driving behaviour change as it is about wildlife management. Finally, perseverance is a much-needed attribute, in your job search and throughout your career, as it can feel like fighting a losing battle sometimes.
