 |
| Students of Escuela Heroes y Martires de Xiloa listen carefully to Alice. This school was built for the poor people of the Xiloa area by FUNDECI/GAIA, and we continue to work with the local people to facilitate environmentally sustainable lifestyles to the families of the people living in and around the Chiltepe Peninsula Nature Reserve, where this school is located. Photo by Jeffrey McCrary. |
Learning and contributing can be done in practice, together. We at
Estacion Biologica FUNDECI/GAIA believe that all of us have something to contribute and plenty to learn. In fact, the concept of service learning is now found in many college and high school curricula. We arrange internships for students and members of organizations in fields of natural sciences, natural resources conservation, and rural community development.
Our Conservation Internship program is intentionally broad in scope, but focused on the issues of nature protection in the context of unmet, basic needs among the local people.
 |
| We study the local fauna, both great and small, with emphasis on protection of the natural resources in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. Photo Jeffrey McCrary. |
Internships from three months to one year in duration can be arranged. Prospective interns may request a project topic from our staff, with conditions to comply with the academic or professional development needs of the prospective intern.
 |
| Interns assigned to research projects will gather field data and process data to test scientific hypotheses of value to conservation of the natural resources in the region. Photo Witold Lapinski. |
Topics for internships may be in the areas of wildlife biology, wildlife conservation, environmental education, or management. We also accept internships in a variety of technical areas which may be utilized in our work (e.g. computers, public relations, law, agriculture, etc.). Each intern will be expect to communicate adequately in Spanish, and to have the physical capacity, skills and facilities to accomplish his/her respective project. We will work with the potential intern to craft a project to ensure that it is appropriate to the objectives of the intern and program, fits the skills and tools available so that success is achievable, and is pertinent to nature conservation in Nicaragua.  |
| We are monitoring bird populations in the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, and interns can work on various aspects of bird conservation. Photo Emily Williams. |
Our past interns have worked on biodiversity and conservation of fish, birds, bats, moths, and plants; reforestation and forest protection; and environmental education. We have needs in several areas which interns can fill by performing a project which may vary from highly academic field work and data analysis, to immensely practical community organization for environmental activities.
 |
| Conservation interns work hard, because many of the projects require lots of physical exertion and long hours. But the benefits are marvelous. Photo Catherine Bard-Duchesneau. |
If you are interested in an internship, please
contact us. We will be happy to work with you to develop an activity plan that is appropriate for you and beneficial to nature and the rural people of Nicaragua.
