• Life On Land

Plastic Free and Recycling Campaign Supporter

location
1 - 20 weeks  ·  Age 18 - 50+
rating  Brilliant 4.7  · 
  Verified by Volunteer World
  Good response rate

Highlights

  • Become part of a team that protects the beautiful environment of the Caribbean and take action by cleaning beaches, help in Recycling initiatives and distribution of information.
  • Help to create innovative products with our Recycling machine, help merchandise them and gain insight in the circular economy program to sustain this and other programs
  • Work in environmental education with local youth and help plan and execute workshops with our partner project and within local schools

Highlights

  • Become part of a team that protects the beautiful environment of the Caribbean and take action by cleaning beaches, help in Recycling initiatives and distribution of information.
  • Help to create innovative products with our Recycling machine, help merchandise them and gain insight in the circular economy program to sustain this and other programs
  • Work in environmental education with local youth and help plan and execute workshops with our partner project and within local schools
  • Improve your Spanish with our local team
  • Immerse yourself in the beautiful South Caribbean lifestyle, explore its abundant nature and experience exciting tours at discounted rates.

    • Especially good for

    Age 18+
    Singles
    Couples
    Families
    Groups
    50+

    About the program

    This program invites you to become part of the plastic free campaign where we organize beach cleanups, environmental education and products with a recycling machine.

    This project was implemented in 2019 and is a vital part of the national program to eliminate the use of single used plastic products. Our team is always looking for motivated helping hands to work on sustainable practices among the local population, support our plastic free campaign that organizes ...

    About the program

    This project was implemented in 2019 and is a vital part of the national program to eliminate the use of single used plastic products. Our team is always looking for motivated helping hands to work on sustainable practices among the local population, support our plastic free campaign that organizes bi-weekly beach cleanups, workshops within the community and local schools and also offers to work creatively with our Plastic recycling machine. Together we will create the weekly program and distribute the workload among all participants and the guiding team. New ideas welcome and experience with a sustainable lifestyle preferred. As we want to expand the production of recycled plastic products we welcome participants with experience as well in project management and production but also young volunteers who would like to become part of our team and take action.

    Typical day

    A typical day might begin with a good breakfast at 7am at our volunteer accommodation to be ready for the bi-weekly beach cleanup together with our team and kids from the Environmental Education program at 8:30am. After a few refreshments we will jump into the river to rinse of the sand and cool ...

    Typical day

    A typical day might begin with a good breakfast at 7am at our volunteer accommodation to be ready for the bi-weekly beach cleanup together with our team and kids from the Environmental Education program at 8:30am. After a few refreshments we will jump into the river to rinse of the sand and cool down  before we stop by our partner stores near by to check on items that need to be replaced or displayed at 10 am. Afterwards we will measure the collected trash, separate it and document. Selected items will be cleaned and used to create new products with our recycling machine 11:30am.

    Take off for the afternoon and enjoy the nearby beaches or restaurants. In the evening after our community dinner we hold a small recap with other volunteers, help them analyze their consumer behaviour and watch a related documentary while enjoying our delicious sweet&salty popcorn.
    Another day might start with the production of products which means to separate different types of plastics, colors and start to shredder them into small parts before heating up our machine. Then the production begins of pearls for our most wanted bracelets, rulers, frisbees or little planters. It is always a satisfaction to see the outcome and knowing that you have made a difference and given trash a new purpose.

    Free-time activities

    The area offers a lot of activities for the leisure time such as beach time, biking, surfing, SUP, sea and river kayak, hiking, nature observation and other fun tours such as Wildwater Rafting, Zipline tour, diving, snorkeling or trips to nearby islands. Just ask our local team and we are happy to ...

    Free-time activities

    The area offers a lot of activities for the leisure time such as beach time, biking, surfing, SUP, sea and river kayak, hiking, nature observation and other fun tours such as Wildwater Rafting, Zipline tour, diving, snorkeling or trips to nearby islands. Just ask our local team and we are happy to help with the organization and offer discounts for our volunteers.

    Requirements

    Requirements

    Minimum Age: 18 years

    In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.

    Language Skills

    You need to speak English (intermediate level) or Spanish (intermediate level)

    Criminal Background Check

    required

    Required Documents

    CV and Motivation letter

    Nationality Restrictions

    No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

    Time Commitment

    Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 08:00 - 12:30

    What's Included

    What's Included

    Services by Planet Conservation

    The fees include shared accommodation at our volunteer house, breakfast and dinner. We also offer free activities on site such as yoga classes or latin dance classes. For participants 4+ weeks we also include Airport pickup service and first night with host family in San Jose as well as one week of free bike rental ($100 deposit required for lock, repair or cover lost bikes). All our volunteers have access to local discounts in selected stores, tours and services. 24h emergency support and support with travel arrangements.

    Airport Pickup at Juan Santamaria International Airport

    We include Airport pickup for participants 4+ weeks and the first night stay at a host family in San Jose. 

    Accommodation

    The volunteer accommodation is located in Cocles, Puerto Viejo. Rooms are usually shared with 4 participants, each room with bathroom, cold water only. The property counts with a nice swimming pool area, yoga rancho and volunteer kitchen with stove, fridge, sandwich maker. We also invite you to help actively in the vegetable garden, compost and recycling system. 

    Food & Beverages

    We include Breakfast and Dinner. Meals are healthy and a large variety with local fresh products. We don't offer sausages or beef and usually have 1-2/ week chicken or fish on the menu, vegetarian and vegan meal plans available at no extra fee. Glutenfree requirements have a small surcharge. please inquire upon reservation and let us know of any allergies or food specialties. Breakfast comes with fresh fruit, granola, homemade yoghurt, bread, cheese and/or marmalade. Dinner always includes a side salad and fresh fruit drink. Coffee, tea and filtered water available throughout the day. We encourage our participants to bring a refill bottle to avoid buying water in plastic.

    Internet Access

    Good access at the project site

    What's NOT included?

    What's NOT included?

    Flight Tickets

    The nearest airport is Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in San Jose. We assist you to find cheap flights to Costa Rica. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

    Travel Insurance

    Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Costa Rica provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

    Vaccines

    If you are intending to volunteer in Costa Rica you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Costa Rica. VACCINE CHECKER

    Details on arrival

    This program runs year around and usually the program starts on a Monday with an introduction on the topic and explanation of all elements we would like you to focus on. We recommend to plan your arrival for Sunday in order to participate in the introduction. We are happy to help with arrival arrangements.

    Availability
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

    Program fees

    1 week (min. stay) 314€
    2 weeks 628€
    3 weeks 818€
    4 weeks 1,047€
    6 weeks 1,446€
    8 weeks 1,845€
    20 weeks (max. stay) 3,840€
    Average fees 252€/week

    Program fees

    252€ per week 1 - 20 weeks Age 18 - 50+

    Payment methods

    Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

    NO CREDIT CARD FEES

    Duration

    1 - 20 weeks

    Deposit

    The deposit is simply to reserve your volunteer placement. Payments are handled by PayPal, our trusted global payment provider. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can also pay using a credit card.

    Final Payment

    Your final payment will be agreed with Planet Conservation during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.

    Meet your organization

    Planet Conservation

    Brilliant 4.7 rating (8 reviews)

    Agency - founded in 2004

    Verified by Volunteer World

      Good response rate

    Coordinated by

    Beate

    Spoken languages: Spanish, English, German

    About the project

    Organization specialized in environmental conservation and education in Costa Rica. Generate and impulse projects and programs of environmental and social interest.

    Meet your organization

    The organization was founded by international professionals with great and varied experience in several regions around the world. It is making a great effort empowering the people to generate and impulse projects and programs of environmental and social interest in Costa Rica providing funds, gathering donations, working together with other organizations and sharing a lot of experiences with the world. Allowing the people to know more about all the work of communities and organizations to generate a change in the world and minds.


    The team is built around the efforts of volunteers, who participate as integrated members of the organization in any chosen project, while they experience the diversity, culture and nature of the Mesoamerican region.



    The Story


    Planet Conservation was formed in 2004 by Federico and Beate, with the intention of building a platform to present various projects that had been worked on in Latin America. Since then, they have grown in scale, using a holistic approach to tackle the environmental issues that face the world today.


    It was upon talking to their children and hearing of their fears for the future that they realized how essential it was to create a sustainable world for them to enjoy, motivating them to continue to expand and grow the organization.


    Through these projects and many more, Planet Conservation hopes to keep contributing to the shift in collective consciousness regarding the environment. By focusing on attainable yet important goals, we can create a future in which humans and the natural world can flourish.


     

    8 reviews · rating4.7

    This volunteering project will be one of the most fun and interesting experiences you could ask for. Not only is the volunteer work very engaging and enjoyable but you can also see how you are contributing towards something impactful as they constantly find new ways to help the local community and ...
    Birdy Landgreen rating3.6

    2024 at Plastic Free and Recycling Campaign Supporter

    The intentions about the Plastic Recycling Project were good but in practice, we didn't do much during the 11 days of my stay. I missed more focus and enthusiasm from the program. I hoped to work more effectively and achieve great results but it turned out more relaxing and pura vida ...
    Cristina Fernandez Megías rating5

    2021 at Environmental Education Youth Club

    ***english below*** La experiencia con Travel Conservation ha sido fantàstica en todos los sentidos. Tuve la oportunidad de sentirme útil y de profundizar y conectar con la cultura local. El ambiente es muy agradable y las instalaciones y la comida también resultaron por encima de mis ...
    you learn a lot about ngo in a local community, how to face day to day tasks like recycling, organize other volunteers'shift, set a beach clean up, and prepare senibilization campaign on ...
    Valentina Costantino rating4.2

    2019 at OSA Information Center and Biological Station

    Positive feedback about the 4 months spent in Costa Rica, in the middle of the jungle and in a international environment. The aim of the NGO is the environmental protection and as project assistant, I had the chance to be involved in different initiatives. Planet Conservation use to organize a ...
    My best volunteering was at planet conservation. They know what to do, they organize an schedule for you with lots of good things to do. You will feel that you can do diverse things and can help others. The most important thing is that you will learn about the environment, animals, a new language ...

    Location

    Americas > Central America > Costa Rica > Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

    You might also be interested in

    Volunteer Abroad  >  Environment  >  Conservation Work in Costa Rica
    Contact Beate
      Good response rate
    Spanish, English, German

    Most volunteers ask about

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