We had a lovely group of young teenagers and two group leaders from Canada volunteer on our biological research station project in March of 2025. Below you can read about their experiences 🙂
After a week of volunteering at Reserva Playa Tortuga, we asked the kids a few questions about their experience.
1) What did you get out of the volunteer experience?
Devon – I got experience with helping others and it can help me to figure out what kind of travelling I can do and what my preferences are. I know that I can’t go somewhere without helping in someway, even if it’s not much.
Rika – I got more experience and knowledge about animals here, but most importantly, I realized that there is a lot of things I can do to improve the earth, such as wildlife and environment even if I am not volunteering. I felt that the best thing I can do is to continue to remember that we are a part of nature, and that helping the environment is helping us. The workers and volunteers all had a huge love of nature and kindness. Their hard work and passion inspired me a lot, and I would never want to forget their strong thoughts and this memory. So, the most important thing I got out of this experience was how to find a way to help more, and the message of protect and improve our world.
Huy – I think that I got more knowledge on what it would probably be like when you volunteer for this type of cause. I think this experience is good for me as it could help me make decisions on whether or not I would want to volunteer at a place or not if I were to ever travel.
Hunter – I got a lot out of the experience but I think the biggest thing I got out of it was realizing how much I can do at my age. We did a lot to help the animals and the ecosystem at the reserva even though we are just teenagers, and we were able to do all the fundraising and a portion of the planning for the trip itself. Even though we had a lot of assistance planning this trip, I think next time something we do something like this, we will be able to do more of the little details of the trip. We put a lot of work into this from the very beginning with picking the perfect destination, to the end with picking what activities we do in our free time, and I think it all paid off. Yumi – I learned some Spanish, about the animals as there were lots of animals in Costa Rica. And the foods are really good here.
Stephen – The reserva uses a system where at different times of the day, different groups of volunteers would do different tasks. This made it so that there was less work on individual people. Previously, I have attended a volunteering job where everyone had to work every hour. If I ever organize something, I will definitely use this system.
2) What did you most enjoy about volunteering?
Devon – I got to get a feel for how I’m helping from a first hand experience. I love to be able to make a difference.
Rika – What I enjoyed the most when volunteering was talking with different people from different backgrounds. I like to learn about different languages and cultures from different areas, so I was very glad that I had this opportunity to talk with other people including staffs and volunteers in this reserve. I really enjoyed spending time with different people while volunteering. I also felt very happy because no matter what kind of experience we had, or where we were from, we all worked together toward the big goal of making the world a better place.
Huy – I enjoyed being able to go through different activities which all offered a different experience from each other. This made things not as boring and since you get grouped with other people, you can learn a lot about other people and where they came from.
Hunter – I really enjoyed meeting all the different people at the reserva. We met so many people from all around the world and even though we only knew them for a few days saying goodbye was hard. We hung out with them for days straight and did lots of jobs with them. The volunteer coordinator, Sara, was so nice and it was especially hard to say goodbye to her. On our way out we gave her a gift of maple syrup from Canada and our trip badge. She was very grateful and we were very happy to give it to her.
Yumi – I enjoyed to meet with people from other places and talk with them.
Stephen – I enjoyed helping out the staff and workers during our hikes and data collections. I had the opportunity to measure a baby caiman and write down the measurements of the different body parts. During the first few days, the staff were collecting all the data and I felt like the volunteers were just there for emotional support. I am glad that we eventually got to collect some data and help out.
3) What was the hardest part of the volunteering?
Devon – At some points it was hard to want to stay committed during the more boring parts. I quickly realized that its important to stay committed. I remembered about the purpose of the trip and that helps me want to commit to volunteering.
Rika – I found this volunteering experience very enjoyable, and I didn’t feel anything hard specifically, but I realized how limited my work can help the world. I found out that what we worked on in the reserve everyday was only a small step to make a change. For example, we did hatchery check everyday to increase the sea turtle’s population, but to really help sea turtles to have a better habitat, all of the people in the world have to work together. I found this hard because I thought if we work hard and care about the environment, we could solve problems, but that is not how things are. I found this part hard because it sometimes take years for the consequences of our hard work been show. And sometimes when I was working on these things that seemed small to me, I got lost. But I believe if I keep working on what I can, it would make a difference.
Huy – I think the hardest to volunteering might be doing tasks that could make you feel uncomfortable (like getting water in your rubber boots), but apart from that, I am not really sure about other volunteering opportunities as they have different goals and fight for different causes.
Hunter – I think the hardest part of volunteering was the long days. Some days we would have to be ready for a 6am turtle check, and then not be done the day until 10 o’clock when you get back from looking for crocodiles. We had long breaks in between shifts so we could take a nap but because of all the noise and the heat it was pointless to try. Even though we were very tired, the excitement of all the new experiences was enough to keep us going.
Yumi – Sometimes you have a job at late time or early time so you will have to get up early.
Stephen – Having two time tables: one for the hatchery checks and one for the volunteering shifts, was difficult to keep track of. Sometimes, there would be hatchery checks right before a volunteer shift. We needed to make sure to check the schedules every day.
4) Do you think you might be interested in volunteering when you are older?
Devon – 100%. Volunteers build community and everything involved. Even if someone gets paid to do the exact same job, it’s just not the same. This is exactly why I will volunteer in more than just community events back home. I believe that everyone should volunteer. I encourage you, the reader, to get out there and volunteer. No matter your age, restrictions, or anything, I believe that you can make a difference.
Rika – Yes, I will definitely plan another volunteer trip in the near future. I found this volunteer experience very purposeful, and it inspired me a lot. I realized how shallow my other trips were, and how volunteering can make a trip more enjoyable and purposeful. This volunteer experience helped me learn a lot more about Costa Rica and I couldn’t learn these without it. Before this week, I didn’t know how this experience would be like, but I am very thankful that I had this amazing opportunity. I believe this is just a start point of me as a volunteer, and I would do more and more of this in the future. I also promised the staffs in the reserve that I will come here again by myself when I turn eighteen, so I want to make sure I start to prepare for that from now.
Huy – I think that I would be interested in volunteering in the future as you get to meet a lot of new people from different places, and while you know that you are contributing to a cause, even if it’s small. It’s also a good way to spend time when travelling, especially if you’re a single traveller, or you have a budget to fit within.
Hunter – I would love to do something like this when I am older with my friends. I think going to the same place would be cool but it would also be cool to go somewhere else. I really enjoyed our time at the reserva and maybe coming back in a few years to see what it looks like then would be cool, but it would also be great to learn about a new place. I think next time I volunteer somewhere like that I will stay longer because while it was amazing to experience all the different jobs they have there I would like to get good at them and be able to be more independent in my work.
Yumi – Yes, it was so fun and I get to know different people. Also it’s cheaper to stay so if I don’t have lots of money, I can do volunteers.
Stephen – I saw some older volunteers at this camp. When I am older, I would like to volunteer in other countries or other places. I don’t like the idea of returning to one place for volunteering, since I want to have different experiences and explore a bit more.
5) What would you recommend (tips + advice) for someone interested in volunteering?
Devon – Start simple and find you passion. Volunteering is broad. What is something you enjoy or care about. Volunteering doesn’t need to be with a big group of organization. Go to a local event or even just start on your own. Care about bees? Plant pollinator plants in your garden. Care about litter? Pick up trash or make sure garbage bins are up in parks.
Rika – I would say it is important to always remind yourself the purpose of volunteering. Because when you are working on something or having a busy day while volunteering, you might forget about what the works are for. So you have to remember what and who are the works are for, so in that way, you can always have positivity and porpoise when volunteering.
Huy – I would recommend volunteering as a single traveller, or with friends if you all agree that it’s okay to spend a week volunteering. But if you were travelling with family, it would probably be safer not to volunteer, unless you know for certain that everyone would do it.
Hunter – Don’t be shy! Hang out with the other volunteers, they are also probably looking to meet new people. Also don’t be afraid to ask questions about what you are seeing or experiencing. If you are unsure about how to do something, ask. If you want to know something about the animals you are working with, ask. And most importantly, if you want to learn about another volunteer or person working there, even just to make a friend, ask.
Yumi – I will recommend them to check the weather and wear the right clothes. But sometimes even it’s hot there, you will need to bring long sleeves because of the mosquitos
Stephen – Asking questions is important because you need to be sure before you do something. I found myself asking more questions to the staff than I usually would have, since I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any shifts or collect any data wrong. Being flexible is also important. You never know if you will be given an extra task or your shift time will be changed. This was not much of a problem at this volunteering job sonce there was a lot of free time, but it is important to keep note of for other jobs.
