GVI Volunteer Case Study

Name: Hannah Milburn

Age: 19

Gender: Female

Country of Residence: United Kingdom

Start Date: 02-October-2009

Volunteer Program: Rainforest Conservation Expedition in Ecuador

Read on to find out more about Hannah’s experience...!

GVI – What were your initial reactions when arriving on the project?

Hannah – Arriving in Quito I was very tired and my nerves got the best of me making me very sick for the first few days, but the staff and volunteers were all very supportive and made sure I was okay to travel on without any other problems. But after settling down on our first bus journey through the cloud forests and heading off into the jungle on a canoe to base camp (which happened to be my 19 th

birthday) I was starting to get very excited, and had a smile from ear to ear! When we arrived at base camp, we were given the grand tour, met the utterly fabulous staff and settled in. Flushing toilets seeming like the ultimate luxury already! Sharing showers with the spiders and other inhabitants seemed very daunting at first, but almost familiar towards the end.

GVI – What was the best thing about your trip?

Hannah – Can I say everything!? I can honestly say that every moment was just spectacular! If I had to pick a few best things, I would say doing the stream walks at night in the depth of the rainforest. I can admit that I did moan about the idea of getting water in my wellies, but once it was in there it wasn’t going anywhere, and after our first frog catching I was all smiles and in awe of everything we saw, which happened to include a glass frog! The noises you hear and the things you see overwhelm the senses and you just want to look everywhere. Even with water up to our chest at some points it was worth every second, and not too cold either. My other most memorable moment was spending the night in a jungle hammock beneath a tarp in the middle of the forest. Not the most comfortable thing, but when am I ever going to do that again (although I hope I do it again!)!?

GVI – What do you feel you gained from going away with GVI?

Hannah – I learnt that I can do things I didn’t think I could cope with, and that if you just go for it, you really can do anything you want. The BTEC of course enabled me to lead my own team through the forest, and combined with doing mini presentations to the other volunteers my confidence talking to groups grew and grew. I gained more knowledge in an area I want to continue to study for university, and hope that while at Leeds studying environmental conservation I can take some time out to come back to these amazing places. GVI also taught me to cook for over 20 people and hand wash clothes! That’s for life!

GVI – Is there a particular memory or interesting story you can tell us?

Hannah – It all comes down to the frogs and our rescued baby possum. We had an osteocephalus deridens frog living in a tree at camp, he croaked to us every night from his bromeliad! And seeing the glass frog’s heart beating just couldn’t help but make me smile, knowing I was lucky enough to see one of these rare umbrella species really made me feel close to the forest. Finding a baby possum almost drowning in the water tank was a very sad site! But with a warm lap and thick socks we managed to warm her up and get her drinking and eating grass hoppers which needed to be caught first! She slept under a bed and was always very hungry, when we left camp she was still going strong and our Ecuadorian friends promised to take care of her until she could be released and catch food for herself.

GVI – Has going away with GVI changed your life in any particular way?

Hannah – I already knew that I wanted to work in conservation from a young age. GVI just strengthened my ideas that I can make a difference, and it’s so worth it! GVI has made me want to go back to Ecuador, and go everywhere else too! I have come back from Ecuador appreciating so many more things and wanting to learn more about the species around where I live too, so it’s time to make a butterfly trap and identify some species!

GVI – Why would you recommend GVI to your friends?

Hannah – Because it’s not just for gap year students, anyone and everyone can go and you can meet some really fascinating people! I felt safe with GVI, and I think that is very important when you are in an unknown country for so long. The staff were also so supportive and fun, and they get on with everyone and know what they are doing! I even recommend my mum and dad to do it! In fact everyone I meet I always tell them to go and do it themselves too. Everything was organised and well planned, and I felt like the team in Ecuador were really working with the countries scientists and museums to get more areas of forest protected with their research.

About Global Vision International (GVI)

GVI is an internationally based volunteer abroad organisation which offers volunteer programs in Africa, South America, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Formed in 1998, GVI provides support and services to international charities, non-profits and governmental agencies through volunteering opportunities and direct funding, filling a critical void in the fields of environmental research, conservation, education and community development. Various types of overseas volunteer work are offered including volunteer holidays, gap year volunteering, short term volunteering, long term volunteering, volunteer internships, intern abroad programs, student volunteer abroad programs and employee volunteering trips abroad. Available subjects include marine biology, environmental research, teaching and scuba diving courses in various locations around the world.

For more information on volunteering abroad, please visit http://www.gviusa.com or http://www.gvi.co.uk.