My Nonprofit Reviews

Wow, what amazing reviews on here! But I whole-heartedly agree. I have been on several wildlife volunteering expeditions (with Biosphere and others, such as Earthwatch) and Biosphere has been by far the best. As people before me have observed on here, their focus is on conservation (not money), on integrating you into the work, making you feel part of something bigger, and challenging yourself in the best way possible. You are also looked after very well, treated as an adult and given plenty of responsibility and surrounded by very knowledgeable and helpful staff and interesting people. I have made many friendships on expedition and learnt a lot of new things and skills. Each time I felt I have developed as a person too.

Also, once the expedition is over, you are not just forgotten about. Instead you receive expedition reports and news (which you can opt out of at any time), invitations to events, etc., which is great. For me the expedition reports in particular showed me that Biosphere Expeditions is a highly ethical organisation that delivers on its promises. It showed me that they are serious about their conservation work, and my contribution to it in terms of the work I put in, and being transparent about where the money goes (the report covers both in great detail). No other organisation I have volunteered for even comes close to this level of transparency and serious science.

Volunteering has come in for some criticism in the media lately for being exploitative and for bogus science and projects. In my opinion Biosphere is a shining example of how it should be done.

Anyway, before I ramble on too much, let me finish by saying - along with many others here - that if you are thinking about wildlife volunteering, then stop thinking and start doing!