The soft sand beneath your feet massages them gently, the aroma of coconut sunblock permeates the ocean air and you are headed to your cottage in the peaceful U.S. Virgin Islands. This sounds like a dream vacation for some, but imagine if it was more than a vacation? What's better than taking care of yourself by relaxing far away from all the stress of your daily life, you ask? Turning your vacation into an opportunity to volunteer!
Giving back is an excellent way of rejuvenating and putting life into perspective (not to mention many of the trips offer an opportunity for tax deduction). When most people think of volunteer vacations they envision hard labor and poor conditions, but that isn't always the case. Here are a few extraordinary ways you can give back to nature, while enjoying her amazing gifts to you.
The Leatherback Sea Turtle has existed for 120 million years unchanged, until the 20th century that is. Poachers, beach erosion, fishing nets and pollution have taken their toll on this remarkable creature, causing the Leatherback's population to drop critically. You can be a part of their survival story by participating in a program hosted on the island of St. Croix. You and your teammates walk the beaches each night looking for nesting turtles. Even though these turtles can grow to exceed the weight of one ton, they are quite vulnerable as babies. When you find a nest you record the location, the weather and the number of eggs laid. If the nest is below the high-tide line, you move it up the beach and dig a new nest for them. Later, teams will help hatchlings reach the sea safely and dig up hatched nests to track success and save any stragglers. Your beachside bungalows offer a wonderful place of rest in between your activities and volunteer work. For more information on this tour visit Away.com.
Cumberland Island is the magical place where the late John F. Kennedy Jr. married his beloved Caroline Bessette. Its pristine beaches and magnificent forests of live oaks hanging with moss are more than a backdrop for a Camelot wedding. The natural eco-system, from ocean to dune fields to sand marshes, offers a home for marvelous flora and fauna. The north end of the island is a designated wilderness and is also part of the South Atlantic-Carolinian Biosphere Reserve and is permanently protected in its primitive state. The tour begins with a backpacking excursion approximately 5 miles to set up camp. The volunteer work will take place on the Kings Bottom Trail. It will concentrate on building a puncheon bridge on a section of the trail that crosses a salt marsh. Free time can be spent combing the beaches, swimming or bird watching. For more information about this tour visit Wilderness Volunteers.
If you ever watched Flipper with a complete awe of dolphins, this is the vacation for you. The Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory in Hawaii offers an opportunity to work intimately with dolphins while assisting biologists in monitoring experimental apparatus, recording trial data, archiving experiments on videotape and preparing dolphin's food. The excitement comes when you witness researchers studying the dolphin's visual and acoustical environments and their sense of self-awareness. There are a variety of lectures included in this trip and a chance to ignite your own creativity and sense of self. People who have been fortunate enough to work with dolphins swear by their special energy and can't compare it to anything else. For more information on this trip, click here.
