Ecoteer

I've taken two extended summer breaks in L'Escala, Spain with Kenna Eco Diving. Gaynor, the area's coordinator, is most helpful, the diving is most pleasant with a great deal to be learnt about Posidonia grass & seahorses.
The accommodation is basic bunkroom fare but at the all inclusive price with ten dives per week it's just fine. Gaynor can arrange more private accommodation such as B&B or an apartment but the price is increased. Most people on a budget opt for the bunkrooms.
I'll definitely be back for another summer dive holiday.

I have dived with Kenna eco divers in L'Escala Spain many times and certainly hope to do so again this year 2015. The subsidised diving helps me put something back and it is most interesting, I learn something new every time. It's like diving with a big family A super friendly group Gaynor is a first class teacher pointing out local flora and fauna. The local town is very oldie world Spanish loads to explore at weekends and even extra diving if wanted off the Medes Islands.

Currently, I am in Thailand spending most of my time "eco diving" (clean-ups, Reef-Check, artificial reef maintenance, etc.). Everyone (especially Europeans) I meet with an interest in marine biology, I tell about your Kenna Eco Diving projects and how much I enjoyed volunteering for you. I have already been considering to volunteer with you again later in 2015.

I spent a month as a volunteer research diver with Kenna Eco Diving last summer. It was great experience for me as a marine biology student as I took part in underwater surveys on key species, including seahorses!

Everyone was friendly and I felt like one of the team. I met a lot of like-minded divers who really care about conservation, and really improved my buoyancy skills thanks to the patient coaching of Gaynor who leads the marine research.

Hello all,

My name is Michelle Carpenter and I am an undergraduate student at Eckerd College. I first stumbled across Ecoteer online when I was researching organizations to go and make a difference by being there, not just traveling. I wanted the most raw cultural experience, which naturally comes with a lower budget which was what I was looking for. I also really wanted my presence to make a difference, meaning I wanted to work or do something to help the community. Ecoteer is a great website that facilitates people who want to make a difference in finding the volunteer project they would most be interested in. There are many volunteer organizations nowadays that claim to be making a difference, charge you thousands of dollars, that then support their corporation. Such corporations include GVI and Globalinks which I have researched thoroughly. Though they are great opportunities to further experience and enjoy the world, they are not necessarily outting all of their funds and efforts to helping out the country. Based on the experience I've had through Ecoteer, I can say that Ecoteer seems to be going in the right direction. As a young girl, I was a little cautious in finding a volunteer project online without ever being to the country before let alone know who was running the organization. However, Ecoteer provided me with the correct information to be able to thoroughly communicate. This project was ikiam expeditions, which was at the Shiwiar village in the Amazon rainforest, Ecuador. This trip was incredible and I would have never found out about this opportunity without Ecoteer. Thirty days in the Amazon and I learned so much about the culture while also helping to conserve and protect the rainforest. I could write much more but there is a character limit! The only downside is that Ecoteer has a couple of downsides- you have to purchase a membership in order to get the contact information of the organization and the website is a little out of date. Enjoy!

In 1996 I joined the volunteer program in Kathmandu organized by Naresh Shrestha of insight Nepal. This includes an orientation and training program and sightseeing. I visited Chitwan National Park
and had a week trekking in Annapurna, which was an amazing experience. Meanwhile I learned to speak Nepali language and had a good impression of the Nepali culture and their tradition. After completing this training period, I was placed in a teaching program for 6 months and learned a lot about the teaching method and made friends with the children and lots of other people. I have remained good friends with Naresh Shrestha and his family since then.