What is it like being a LAMAVE volunteer?
Volunteering overseas and making an impact in the conservation of marine wildlife is one of the most fulfilling experiences anyone can have. Charlotte Joliffe shares her most memorable moments as a volunteer in the Philippines for the Whale Shark Research & Conservation Project and how her experience has geared her to thrive in her marine sciences career.
Read MoreStudying Whale Sharks in the Philippines with LAMAVE as an Ocean Giants Programme Scholar
Early-career scientists can gain valuable experience in marine conservation and grow their network through on-site placements with NGOs like LAMAVE. Ocean Giants Programme scholar Robin Gould tells us about his experience during his placement with our Palawan Whale Shark Research and Conservation project in the Philippines.
Read More7 One-of-A-Kind Experiences as a LAMAVE Volunteer
Just like any other volunteering opportunity, signing up with LAMAVE is a great way to contribute your time and skills to something bigger – marine conservation. But joining LAMAVE is unique in itself because it is more of a commitment – you have to be passionate and dedicate at least three months of your life to volunteering with us.
Read MoreA Whole New World
My girlfriend and I took a year off to travel around the world and we wanted to volunteer with a few conservation organisations along the way. We jumped on the opportunity as soon as we heard of LAMAVE. We could tell that this experience would shape what we will do for the rest of the trip. And for good!
Read MoreLearning curves, good company and questionable Tagalog pronunciation
I am now nearing the end of my three-month placement in Puerto Princesa and it has flown by! The last ten weeks have been a truly wonderful experience, full of learning curves, good company, questionable Tagalog pronunciation and stunning whale shark encounters. When I told a few people at home what I would be doing next with my life they didn’t quite believe what I said…
Read MoreA moment of reflection
I’ve been struggling to write about my experience on Apo island for quite some time now. I could elaborate extensively about the responsibilities of a volunteer, and explain how the project has the potential to protect the sea turtles and the community they support. Or preach incessantly about how urgently the ocean needs protection.
Read MorePalawan – The paradise of the Philippines
I’m back. Once again I find myself back in this crazy and beautiful country of the Philippines. Where travelling from one place to another sometimes takes hours, if not days with a bus, jeepney, trike and two boats. Where finding a quick feed at the bus station means getting another bag of garlic peanuts (yum) and a bunch of bananas. It also means being back in the amazing crystal clear - blue waters where whale sharks, manta rays, turtles and eagle rays live.
Read MoreClose encounters - out of the blue a shark I didn’t recognise appeared!
Before starting my volunteer placement with LAMAVE I knew I would be spending plenty of time in water with the largest fish in the ocean, Whale Sharks, little did I know the close encounter I was soon to experience….
Read MoreLiving and loving the simple life
I’ve learned to love this basic life we have on Apo Island. Waking up to dog barks and rooster calls at 6am and just sitting by the balcony enjoying the morning view with my cup of coffee and bread. Watching the team rushing to change into their research outfit and heading out for the first morning session at 7am. It’s always a joy to watch and identify the turtles in the water…
Read MoreRUV Life
I was moments away from booking my long-awaited holiday to Sulawesi when I saw the call for volunteers for the pilot manta project at Manta Bowl on the LAMAVE facebook back in 2017. I dropped everything, sent an email straight away and intentionally didn’t even “Like” the post to avoid drawing more attention to it until I knew I had the spot. (Please don’t judge me :D). I knew instantly I wanted to be part of the project! I love nudibranchs but I LOVE mantas!
Read MoreDiving into science
It’s close to 6 o’clock in the morning. The sun rose just as we left the diveshop. The captain shouts “50 meters”. I better get ready, weights, mask, fins, air is open, okay I am good to go. I look at my buddy “ok”. The captain shouts “10 meters”. I look at my buddy: “ready? 3-2-1 go!” Backroll into the fresh, chilled water….
Read MoreSalamat Apo
Another day on the island. 5:30 am and the sun is already peeping through the palms and colouring the sky with the softest tones. The water is looking serene and undisturbed, it is holding in its transparency all the secrets of the amazing reef we are lucky to call a survey area. We prepare and leave home walking among the same familiar smiles that give us their ‘maayong buntag’ (good morning) when we pass by…
Read MoreA Biologist's Elegy
After three months flicking through slide after slide of the same three hundred or so whale sharks, you wonder about the delicate dictation of genes that shape the subtle nuances between phenotypes. Some of their patterns are remarkably similar, different in only the breadth of a stripe here or the completeness of a circle there. Others are perhaps distorted reflections of another…
Read MoreFrom the pitch to the ocean
At the age of 18, I was attending my final year of pre-university education at my local school in the Netherlands. I was studying really, really hard (:p) and I was playing soccer at a pretty high level, something I loved to do….But then in the early season the worst thing I could imagine happened - I tore off possibly all the ligaments in my right-knee and at the same time, I had to do my finals…
Read MoreOcean Love
When you are a volunteer with LAMAVE, you spent a lot of time in the ocean. I choose to spend most of my free time with things that have to do with the ocean as well. During my in-water sessions, I could not help but pay attention to everything that swims and moves underwater.
Read MoreMissing; the world’s biggest fish
Today’s forecast; clear, sunny skies and a top temperature of 32°C – another glorious day. Whizzing down the coastal road, the breeze providing relief from the already sweltering morning sun, the smell of sea salt wafts through the jeepney. The excitement of soon submerging into the world below the surface builds. Once off the jeepney, each step brings you closer to cooling off with the giants of the deep, in today’s crystal clear blue sea.
Read MoreAs a volunteer, there is much work to be done, but there is also time to slack
Living “on project”, a day in the life of a LAMAVE volunteer is usually quite busy as there is always work to be done of some sort. Sometimes it’s easy to focus solely on the task at hand and not get out to enjoy what the rest of the island of Cebu has to offer. I find it’s extremely important to unwind and balance the work life with some personal time.
Read MoreTurtle Lady
Although the BRUVS project is centered around elasmobranch research, we were all given side projects to work on individually. I was lucky enough to become the ‘Turtle Lady’, tasked with creating an ID catalogue of all the turtles around Apo Reef island and Pandan island, close to Sablayan….
Read MoreLiving in a land of coconuts, rainbows and unicorn glitter
WANTED: Volunteers to live and work in the Philippines, studying sharks on a remote tropical island and generally living in a land of coconuts, rainbows, and unicorn glitter
Erm… where do I sign?
Smile!
Walking in the street by my home in Mexico I can be as lonely as in a misty forest. Things are different here in the Philippines; everyone says ‘hello’ or calls my name. When I first arrived in Donsol local people commented that I never smiled, that I was lulong (crazy). But I am shy! It’s not so easy for me to talk with people. However, I’ve never seen a group of guys trying so hard to make you feel happy…
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