• Join the Crees team at the Manu Learning Centre, a research and education hub in the remote Peruvian Amazon.
• Live and work with a group of like-minded people from across the world, united in their passion to protect Manu rainforest.
• Discover what it takes to save this rainforest by learning about the social, economic and political challenges facing Manu.
• Spend every day exploring the rainforest and meeting its wild creatures, while carrying out tropical ecology surveys to collect data that’s used in scientific publications.
• Support our community team as they empower  local peoplethrough improved livelihoods and living standards. Become part of the solution.

ACHIEVEMENT

By volunteering with Crees in  the Manu Rainforest you’ll be supporting our conservation and community projects in the Amazon.

Manu is the most biodiverse place on Earth, but it’s under threat. Poverty and population growth drive people to destroy the rainforestthrough logging, farming and mining. They have few other ways of providing for their families.

To save Manu, sustainability has to be a realistic choice for impoverished communities. Through conservation research, environmental education and sustainable livelihoods we’re working on the solution.

To be successful we need your support.

A TYPICAL WEEK

You wake up at 6am to the calls of charismatic macaws and mischievous monkeys. After a typical Peruvian breakfast, you set out with your team leader into the rainforest to survey the immense diversity of Amazonian butterflies. You learn to handle, identify and record the butterflies’ data to help our researchers better understand the health of the ecosystem – it’s amazing what you can learn from these beautiful creatures. This is citizen science in action. After a busy day trekking through the rainforest to complete the surveys, it’s time to head back camp and catch up on the day’s gossip over a communal dinner before an early night.

You hop on the early morning boat to travel over to the small town of Salvación to help families with their biogardens – from fixing roofs, to planting saplings. Many children in the town suffer from malnutrition due to a lack of fresh vegetables, so the biogardens are essential for improving their health. The gardens are also a source of alternative income, as many families have begun selling their produce to improve their livelihoods. After a hot and sweaty day’s work, you relax over a cold beer in the evening and feel a sense of accomplishment knowing that you and your team have helped a family that really needs your support.

After a morning in the biogardens, you catch the boat back to camp to enjoy a communal lunch with everyone in the team. You spend the afternoon working with our researchers to identify species and record data, or help the kitchen and housekeeping staff around camp and enjoy getting to know the team better. After a hearty evening meal, you spend a fun-filled evening practising Spanish with our Peruvian staff – sharing stories to learn about different cultures and experiences that’ll expand your understanding and horizons.

You wake up before dawn and catch the boat down to the beach as the sun begins to rise over the Amazon rainforest and the distant snow-capped mountains. A spectacular way to start the day. Flocks of macaws and parrots begin to arrive at the clay lick by the beach, where they socialise and replenish minerals needed in their diet. You will learn how to identify different species and record various data, so that our researchers can better understand how these threatened species are being impacted by tourism and habitat loss. You hop back on the boat for breakfast and a day of trekking in the forest to complete surveys. Who knows what wildlife you might see today.

You spend the day at camp helping out the team on their projects or working in the biogarden. Tonight you’ll head out on a survey after dark, hunting for amphibians and reptiles. Herpetofauna are a really understudied group, but they can tell us a lot about the health of their environment. Whether you find snakes or colourful tree frogs, you bring them back to camp to identify and record data to help expand knowledge on these amazing creatures. After a long day, you enjoy a hot shower and bed.

You spend the day trekking through the rainforest and enjoy getting to know the vast diversity of plants and wildlife by chatting to your knowledgeable team leader, as you work together to complete surveys and record data. You get back to camp for a hot shower and dinner, just before Saturday Night Fun kicks off. Every week, this is when the whole team lets loose with quirky home-grown entertainment. Over a few beers and a lot of laughter, you will start building friendships for life.

You relax in a hammock with a good book, play football with the team, go for a dip in the streams, or just enjoy a good gossip with other volunteers. It’s your Sunday in the remote Amazon rainforest: bask in the awe-inspiring beauty of your surroundings and simply enjoy every moment of it. It’s an experience of a lifetime.

DATES & PRICES

You can choose between a 2 week or 12 week volunteer experience.

Costs are:

• 2 week – $1800
• 4 weeks – $2200
• 6 weeks – $3000
• 8 weeks – $4000
• 10 weeks – $4600
• 12 weeks – $5750

All prices include in-country travel, food and accommodation.

By booking a Crees volunteer experience you will be actively supporting our conservation and community projects in the Peruvian Amazon – protecting rainforest and empowering people.

Volunteering start dates for 2018 are:

• September 17
• October 15
• November 12
• December 10

Volunteering start dates for 2019 are:

• January 7
• February 4
• March 4
• April 1
• April 29
• May 27
• June 24
• July 11
• July 22
• August 9
• August 19
• September 16
• October 14
• November 11
• December 9

APPLY

Booking an volunteer programme with Crees will not only allow you to access one of the world’s most amazing places, it also makes a sustained contribution to help protect the Amazon and its people.

If you have any further questions or would like to start the application process, please: Apply Now

You will not be asked for payment.