A Conservation Leader’s Connection to Pacuare Reserve The first time I journeyed to the Pacuare Reserve Costa Rica, I connected deeply with this amazing place and the local people caring for it. Imagine a trip where you can contribute to conserving endangered sea turtles, preserving a rare heron nesting area and collecting information on primates…
Gratitude for Mark: Speak Quietly and Do Something! Mark Hardgrove: Public Land Manager, Volunteer, and Amazing Person. Mark is an example of how to retire to something meaningful. The saying goes that you shouldn’t retire from something, but rather that you should retire to something. We are eternally grateful that Mark Hardgrove retired to…
A heartfelt gift from Peruvian friends is a reminder that our impact reaches beyond the hours we spend on the volunteer projects themselves. On our Machu Picchu Volunteer Trip, we visit the village of Chinchero and love to spend time with the artisans of Qori Puskay women’s weaving center. The center was founded by Guillermina…
Garry Oye – One Volunteer Who Impacts Many How do we measure a person’s impact on an organization, on fellow volunteers, on communities, on the land? It can’t be done with just numbers. We first featured this story about Garry Oye in our 2024 Impact Report. Then in mid 2025, Garry decided that it was…
Nine Reasons to Travel to Tanzania with ConservationVIP How My Dream Came to Fruition My first introduction to ConservationVIP® came during the summer of 2015 when an acquaintance at REI Adventures suggested I check out their volunteer conservation trips. I did and I liked ConservationVIP’s mission and vision. But I noticed there were no trips…
You load 16 tons, that do you get? Another foot further and covered in sweat Thank you to Sharon Wright for adapting Merle Travis’s lyrics to our 2021 Alaska Volunteer Trip experience. Lucky to be leading a trip Call me crazy, but even with the mosquito bites, I felt very lucky to be one of…