In this series titled Volunteering Chronicles: Wild heart and helping hands, I will address the questions most often asked to me with regards to volunteering. Obviously, my experience is restricted to wildlife and environmental organizations.

Does volunteering (in Wildlife/ conservation) mean going into forests?

Firstly, conservation work is needed not just for forest habitats but also other habitats like grasslands, deserts, wetlands, oceans etc. Secondly, it is a common misconception that volunteering often means strenuous hours in the forest and camping outdoors. But this is not so. Volunteering can also include work in the indoors like- data entry, documentation, helping with analysis of data, creating databases etc. More so, if you are interested in environmental education, then your work would include developing educational materials, audio-visuals and writing, which does not require a person to be in the forest. So it basically depends which part of conservation appeals to you the most! If the requirements and expectations of the volunteering job are not well defined, it is always better to clarify before applying. Working indoors or doing desk work does not mean you do not contribute to conservation. All of these in some way form a small part of a larger conservation project.  

Keep an eye out for Part 3!

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