Panama Widlife Volunteer Experience (2021)
Here is the story of our volunteer Gabriella, who came form UK and spent over 3 months in Panama, and she even learned to surf!
Here is her own words summary of her experience in Panama.
“As I boarded my international flight, the unknown of what was waiting for me on the other side flooded my mind with conflicting feelings of excitement and anxiousness. Little did I know that 3 months volunteering with PWCC would bring me one of the most character-building, memorable, grounding and knowledge rich journeys I would be lucky enough to experience.
Don’t forget to check the video at the end.
From the first day of my stay, I was welcomed within the family of Luis as if I was one of theirs, despite having to communicate mostly in sign language at the beginning to understand each other. They proudly showed me their culture, went out of their way to make me feel at home and patiently corrected my apparently cute mistakes I was making in Spanish.
As a fresh undergraduate graduate looking for practical experience to initiate my career in conservation work, PWCC has been able to offer me first-hand
exposure to both the administrative and field work elements of a well-established conservation charity. I was able to contribute to all stages of a project; the important administrative grant application phase, the exciting field research and lastly the educational campaigns, which are instrumental to engaging different publics to various environmental problems and solutions. More specifically, I was able to assist and learn from the biodiversity surveying and camera trapping being undertaken in the buffer zones of the Santa Fe national park. I also shadowed and supported a masters student with her thesis research project which focused on the nesting stage of Olive Ridley sea turtles. My level of expertise and confidence gained from this experience meant I could be trusted to take shifts independent from my supervisor as well as train another young individual. Due to the nature of the charity’s size, I appreciated the level of responsibility allocated to me, which may be rare me as a volunteer in other comparable contexts. I am also very grateful to have met and learn’t from the most incredible people, both conservation biologists and locals alike.
Someone told me that if fear and longing conflict, always choose your longing. Moving to a whole new continent was scary, but my longing to see more of the world made me take one of the best decisions I have ever made.
My time in Panama may have come to an end, for now, but I have gained a second family, deeply cherished memories, a strong foundation in Spanish and knowledge that any degree could not have given me. Thank you to PWCC and it’s team.
Feel free to either contact me or check out my content on instagram: @gabehh_thesheep.”
Check Gaby’s beautiful video summary of her experience with Panama Willdlide Conservation:
See you Soon!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabehh_thesheep/