Environmental projects

The environmental projects are hugely important in helping to preserve natural resources and habitats and protect important species of plants and animals.

Here are some examples of projects you may be working on. Please be aware that these may change and are just a guide to the types of environmental projects we work on during a Raleigh expedition

La Cangreja - viewing platform and trail

This environmental project is a unique opportunity to live right in the middle of the jungle! La Cangreja is Costa Rica's newest National Park which owes its name to the striking 1,305 metre peak Cerro Cangreja. The park has a mixture of Tropical Humid forest and Pre-Montane forest with a number of species of plant found nowhere else in the world which makes the area important for research purposes and for conservation. The park is also blessed with amazing waterfalls. Raleigh volunteers are building a viewing platform near to the main park headquarters that looks over the national park and a trail for local school groups and other visitors.

Chirripo National Park

Raleigh Volunteers will work in the Bajo Chirripo Indigenous Reserve to build trails in the communities of the Chirripo National Park. The communities are remote and take more than two hours to get to on foot. They are inhabited by the Cabecar indigenous people who maintain their own language and culture.

Playa Hermosa – tree planting and turtle conservation

The aim of this project is to plant 3,000 trees and build a biological corridor in an area that has become totally deforested behind Playa Hermosa. Playa Hermosa literally means beautiful beach. Thousands of turtles come to lay their eggs every year on Playa Hermosa. Volunteers will get the chance to take part in nightly turtle patrols to help monitor and protect the eggs from poachers and other predators. Monitoring the nesting of the turtles gives us important information to conserve this important species. Raleigh volunteers will be living in a jungle camp environment.

All of our volunteer projects are sustainable and genuinely needed by the communities we work in. Find out more about how we plan our projects and our project partners in Costa Rica & Nicaragua