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focusing specifically on seahorses. “We work with an
organization called The Seahorse Trust, which collects
data to track migrations and populations and support
their preservation,” says Projects Abroad program
advisor Christian Clark. More than 150 million seahorses
are taken from the wild each year for use in traditional
Chinese medicine, while the souvenir and pet trades take
another million or so each. These programs aim to help
protect seahorse species from exploitation.
The beachfront, four-person wooden bungalows at
Koh Ron Samloem have bathrooms, bucket showers
and a few hours of generator-provided electricity each
evening. Everyone dines in a communal area with
space to relax, play games and enjoy the view from a
hammock. “Sea turtles are commonly seen on the reef,
and you’re pretty much guaranteed to see seahorses,
which are fairly rare and very cool,” Clark says.
Volunteers can assist in beach and underwater clean-
up, in addition to teaching conservation and sustainable
practices at the village school and through community
projects. Program participants also help tally shark
sightings for the organization’s Global Shark Campaign,
which spans 18 countries.
The Thailand project aims to protect and rehabilitate
Thailand’s coral reefs, marine ecosystems, tropical
forests and the animals that live in these habitats. For
these efforts, volunteer divers conduct reef and debris
surveys, collect data and perform salvage dives to
remove fishing nets and other debris from the reefs. For
the land-based work, the program teams up with a local
conservation organization that focuses on the forest.
Volunteers also work with locals: “We have done school
programs, such as working with children to start a tree
nursery,” Clark says, “and we also do beach clean-ups
and other activities in the community.” One particularly
popular activity, for example, included a release of
mangrove crabs and sea snails.
In the Caribbean, the Oceanic Society monitors and
assesses the overall health of coral reefs around Turneffe
Atoll off the coast of Belize. Society researchers provide
training in sampling techniques and the identification,
behavior and distribution of local fish and invertebrates.
During six days of diving, volunteers spend about four
hours a day collecting data and are able to enjoy purely
recreational diving the rest of the time. The research
helps direct marine management efforts, providing
evidence of how human activities affect the reefs.
For these projects and similar opportunities, voluntourists
come from all over the world. The opportunities are
ample for divers, but nondiving family and friends can
also participate in land-based activities or take advantage
of dive certification courses (up to advanced open-water
level) that are offered as part of the trip package.
Combining volunteering with a dive trip not only
benefits the marine environment and local communities,
but it also proves to be memorable for those who
participate. “It provides life-changing experiences for
travelers,” Nahill says. “There is no deeper way to build
a connection with a place than by leaving a legacy of
conservation behind.”
AD
STEPHEN FRINK
COURTESY REEF
COURTESY PROJECTS-ABROAD.ORG
Clockwise from upper left: Volunteer divers conduct a salvage dive
to remove fishing line and other debris from a coral reef in Thailand.
Peter Hughes and Lad Akins often lead REEF expeditions to count
lionfish populations, and for those comfortable doing so, spear and
bag them. Lionfish are an invasive species in the Caribbean, and
volunteers are helpful in eradication efforts.
