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Dolphin Volunteering Conservation Project in Italy!

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The experience

The main activities carried on by the members of the association are research monitoring of cetaceans and other marine fauna of the Ligurian Sea; activities of protection and enhancement of nature; scientific-cultural training activities; promotion and dissemination of good practices aimed at preserving biodiversity. :)

What you offer

30 hours of help per week

Animal Care: Help look after and take care of animals.

Social Work: Help with volunteer work in local projects and communities.

Additional fee required

Amount: € 1500 One time

Fee pays for: Benefits for travelers, Materials for volunteer activities, and Donation to project

Description: Extra fee (March-May; October): 1300 euros /month Extra fee (June-September): 1500 euros /month Delfini del Ponente is a self-funded research project, so participation in this program requires a tuition fee to cover the costs of running the project and the internship expenses (these include office items, fieldwork material, accommodation, field insurance, training, office rent, etc.) Remind that the booking fee is not refundable.

What you get

2 days off per week

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Certificate: Get a certificate of completion after you finish your experience.

Basic Internet Access: Basic speed internet for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate English

Over 18 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

Travel insurance

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

On the contrary, in the Western part, no research organization or scientific
foundation has conducted studies focused only on bottlenose dolphins because,
due to the morphology of the sea bottom, sightings have always been more
sporadic than the opposite side. The continental shelf is very narrow and short
and high depths (around 2000 m) are reached close to the coast. This makes the
area suitable for other cetacean species but not ideal for bottlenose dolphins,
which tend to remain in coastal waters.

Research Topics
● Groups and social structure analysis: to study the interactions and
associations between individuals
● Abundance: estimation of the local population size
● Distribution, occurrence and movements to understand if the animals
perform movements and migrations, even seasonal, towards the
neighbouring areas.
● Identification of hot spots or areas with greater importance.
(...)

Activities & Shift

Volunteers will assist researchers while working onboard dedicated research
vessels. Interns will be involved 5 days a week, 6-8 hours/day (depending on
fieldwork or office work), and also during the weekend if the weather is
favourable. The programme is highly flexible and with possible last-minute
changes due to the changeable weather. The programme is not scheduled in
advance and the activities for the next day are often communicated in the
evening (before 21:30). The coordinators make every possible effort to switch
between field and office work during the week, but this is not always possible due
to the weather constraints. It can happen, for example, to go in the field 4 days a
week or the opposite, to stay in the office for a whole week.
* We will not provide food*

Rules

Participants must be of good health, be able to stay several hours on a boat
and often under the sun or harsh weather, have good physical fitness, be
able to lift/carry 15 kg, be able to walk without difficulty, be comfortable on
boats in nearshore/offshore waters, able to swim and work in harsh weather
conditions at times. Boat-based surveys and the use of binoculars at sea might cause
seasickness. Before fieldwork, a briefing about tasks and safety rules will be provided to the interns. *Insurance is mandatory*