Volunteer: Marine Conservation Project In Mexico

Location: Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Duration: 6-12 weeks commitment
Start Dates: This project is ongoing and you can join whenever suits you best, depending upon availability.
Cost: from 2,975 GBP for 6 weeks
Fee Includes: all food, accommodation, pre-departure + in-country support, orientation and all project related activities
Does not Include: flights, airport pickup, travel insurance, personal spending, visas and vaccinations
Please note: This opportunity is designed to give you the contacts and experience to help further your career. You are not replacing any member of staff, but helping alongside them, whilst learning new skills.
Benefits

• Snorkel in the crystal clear, turquoise blue, tropical waters of Thailands Andaman Sea.
• Experience the vibrant underwater world of Southern Thailand, spotting sea turtles, octopuses, and anemones.
• Work toward United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #14, Life Below Water.
• Explore the region in your free time, going on recreational dives, island hopping around the bay, or visiting some of the many National Parks.
• Contribute to coral reef and coastal conservation.

Introduction
Begin your Diving career and travel the world by earning your PADI Divemaster qualification with us. First, you will journey to the tiny Fijian island of Caqalai to start your theoretical and practical training. Here you will also earn your PADI Coral Reef Researcher Speciality, exclusive to our marine conservation programs. This will allow you to assist the permanent team stationed on the island with long-term locally led ocean conservation efforts aligned to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #14, Life Below Water.
Afterwards you will join a dive centre in Thailand as a junior staff member (student intern) for 3 months, where you will perfect your skills as a recreational dive leader. The internship is designed to give you an intensive and comprehensive introduction to professional diving with the opportunity to experience two of the worlds most popular diving locations.
Daily Life
Upon arrival you will be divided into 2 groups, those who study fish, and those who study coral. If you progress quickly, you may be able to study both.
Other programmes which will run throughout the year as and when they are needed to be completed:

• Weekly beach cleans
• Turtle photo id and monitoring
• Coral restoration nurseries
• Teaching in the local schools in Akumal each week, and outreach work to assist the community and promote conservation practises.
• Incidental sightings recording
• Tourist impact assessment
• Sea grass monitoring and mapping
• Lionfish population studies +amp; eradication program (as needed in other locations)
• Turtle nesting (seasonal) monitoring around the area

You will have more responsibility on base leading workshops and presentations. You will be paired with a mentor who will also conduct the Leadership course with you. Many interns get the opportunity to be as involved with dive maintenance education as they would like, under the tutelage of our staff they learn useful dive industry skills such as regulator servicing
Qualifications gained PADI Advance Open Water, PADI Coral Reef Research Diver Distinctive Specialty. If you stay for 8 weeks or longer you can also complete your Open Water Course on base if you arent already certified. 4 week volunteers must come to the program as certified divers.
ILM (Institute of Leadership +amp; Management certificate
Please note: all information above is subject to change. Please check the most up to date information on the Global Nomadic website when applying.