Florida Wildlife Care
Florida, USA
$2895.00The Experience
Take care of wildlife in beautiful Florida located right next to the famous Everglades wildlife & nature reserves; famous for its diverse wildlife, most notably alligators and many species of birds viewing!
Enjoy the best of both worlds and volunteer at wildlife center located between Miami in the south, the Everglades directly to west and beautiful beaches to the east! Take care of wildlife and help with these creatures rehabilitation so that they can be released back into wild! While on your days off relax on some of the beautiful nearby beaches or go wildlife viewing! This project is in need of your help all year round and works with many different species of mammals and birds! The work with the wildlife on the Center is physically demanding and it is by no means an’ easy holiday option’! The minimum duration of stay is 4 weeks with a maximum duration of 08 weeks. This gives the animals a chance to get to know and trust you, and it requires a little time to learn their routine.
This Is Why
- Help at wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center based right next to the amazing Everglades in Florida
- Learn about the care and rehabilitation of birds, mammals and reptiles
- Educate the public and help with events
- Take care of wildlife, visit the beach, go wildlife watching and enjoy the sun!
- Key Start Dates
Year Round (however try to book early in advance to be assured of a volunteer placement) - Package Prices
04 weeks: $2,895 US
06 weeks: $3,995 US
08 weeks: $4,795 US - Volunteer duration
4, 6 or 8 weeks (other durations available on request) - Average Work hours
On average 5 days per week 40 hours - Number of Volunteers
4 - Volunteer accommodation
Available - Housing Type
Homestay with a American Family nearby the project - Internet Access
Wireless internet included at the homestay - Who Are They Looking For?
Love of the outdoors and a passion for wildlife is a priority. You should not be fussy, picky or hypersensitive about cleaning as this is one of the main chores. We will not tolerate smoking, alcohol or the use of drugs. Please remember that you are a guest, therefore, respecting the rules is essential.
Fast Facts: USA
Where? North America, USA
Country Size: 9,826,675 km2
3,794,101 sq mi
Population density? 33.7/km2
87.4/sq mi
Country Famous for? Statue of Liberty, Yellowstone National Park, Old West, Rocky Mountains, Hamburgers & Hotdogs, Everglades, Alligators, Hawaii, Vulcano's, New York, Statue of Liberty, Las Vegas, Hollywood
When to visit: All year round, many activities all year round with great mixture culture and nature!
- What's Included
- Placement
Florida Wildlife Care - Airport Pickup
We will be waiting for you at the airport and transfer you to your Homestay accommodation nearby the project. - Accommodation
A Private room with a American homestay nearby the center reachable by bicycle and public transport. Meals are not included but can be included at extra cost. You will have access to a full kitchen where you can cook yourself. - Ongoing service
If there are any problems with your volunteer project we are always there to help you and mediate between yourself and the organization. - Tours
Through FRONTEERING you have the possibility to book tours in the USA after you have finished your volunteer project. - 24/7 Emergency contact
If there are any problems during you stay in Florida you can reach us 24/7 to assist you.
What's not included: Flights, meals and Insurance
Package Price:
04 weeks: $2,895 US
06 weeks: $3,995 US
08 weeks: $4,795 US - Placement
- RESPONSIBILITIES
The project runs a non-profit hospital and rehabilitation center providing care for native and migratory wildlife in Florida. The project is a fully equipped wildlife rehabilitation center and admits many patients per year including different species of birds and mammals. The goal of wildlife rehabilitation is to return sick, injured or orphaned wild animals back to the wild. At the project patient handling and human noises are kept to a minimum in an effort to reduce stress and maintain respect for the wild animal’s space. All volunteers participate with the staff in the daily activities of the rehabilitation center. Volunteers are supervised by staff rehabilitators. Some of your responsibilities:
- Foster care for the animals
- Cage cleaning
- Food prep
- Diet and water changing
- Laundry
- Washing Dishes
- Medical care & treatment
- Educating the public
- Helping with events
- TASKS AND DUTIES
As a volunteer at the project you will need to be able to work in the outdoor Florida heat, not have allergies to wildlife and be willing to learn to handle wildlife while appreciating that they are wildlife. Animal care would include food preparation, cage cleaning, habitat and tank construction or maintenance, cleaning of the hospital, feeding, medical restraint, and other medical responsibilities as appropriate to the skills learned by the intern.
You will also be working in the hospital and outdoors caring for the animals in their charge. - Requirements, Guidelines & Policies
- Required to commit to a minimum of 4 weeks
- Dedication to the work, purpose, mission, and philosophy of the organization
- Willingness and ability to keep your commitments; to be focused and paying attention to the animals at all times; to use common sense and thinking ability; to demonstrate initiative and yet be willing to ask questions when appropriate; to work independently, with minimal supervision or direction; to demonstrate good decision-making skills; to put the animals first; to learn each animal, with their names, species, personal history, disability, and at least their general natural history
- Commitment to the principles of honest and direct communica¬tion including
- NO SMOKING is allowed on the property outside of a vehicle during fire season. Otherwise, smoking is permitted only in designated areas, outside of the view of the public. Butts must be picked up and disposed of immediately.
- Strong work ethics are required: reliable, responsible, honest, good sense of humour, dependable, physically and mentally fit.
- Age: 18 and older
- No animal allergies
- Must love animals and have good communication skills with people
- Must have tetanus vaccination and health insurance
- Volunteer Benefits
- The opportunity to work with wild reptiles, birds and mammals s and learn the many aspects involved.
- The opportunity to work with a great team of staff and other volunteers
- The opportunity to explore the beautiful beaches and nature of Florida!
- Fast Facts
- Project location
Florida, USA - Area Famous For
Everglades, Miami, Beaches, Palm trees, great weather, Alligators, Florida Panther, Orlando, Disney World - When to visit
All year round! - Wildlife viewing
Great opportunities to see many different species of reptiles, birds and also mammals in the Nearby everglades and also great marine wildlife viewing opportunities in the warm waters of Florida!
- Project location
- Itinerary & Details
Day 1 - Arrive in Florida;
You will arrive in the beautiful state of Florida where you will be met at the airport and transferred to your homestay accommodation near the project.
For 4 - 8 weeks - Help, rescue and rehabilitate orphaned and injured animals!
For the coming weeks you will have a great time working directly with many different kind of animals.
Your last day - you will transfer back to the airport to take a flight back home. Of course it is possible to extend your stay in and travel around; we can help you with trips and/or accommodation you would like to arrange.
- Accommodation
You will live with a local family nearby the project. You will have a private bedroom with linen and towels, (please make sure that your room is cleaned before you leave, for the next volunteer) together with a shared bathroom with shower and a laundry room. You are responsible to clean and tidy your own room, shower and toilet (meals not included).
Things to bring from home
- Clothes for cold temperatures as well as for summer for warm temperatures. Make these clothes are allowed to get dirty. Make sure to bring gloves, a toque and warm socks with you.
- Comfortable walking shoes are essential, and you should also pack a raincoat and some sun block
- Linen and towels will be provided.
Meals
Meals are not included but you will be able to cook for yourself at the center. You can buy your groceries at a nearby supermarket
Location
Florida is an exciting destination for nature and wildlife enthusiasts. You will find a variety of activities to enjoy. Trough Public transport there is easy access to beaches as well as you will be nearly located at the amazing Everglades where you will have excellent opportunities for wildlife watching. There is also the opportunity to visit Miami!
Florida has many Great opportunities to go to the beach, enjoy watersports, bike, hike, work out, wildlife watch and much more!
Dear Patrick,
I am Nadja from Germany and just finished my Florida Wildlife Project in Coral Springs, Florida. I just wanted to let you know that my stay at Chuck's and Donna's house was beyond perfect. I felt so welcome at their house from the first second on and I must say that they are the most caring and loving people I've ever met. They did everything to make me happy! They drove me around and to work daily, Chuck always asked what we wanted to eat and bought it immediately or even took us to the store where I could pick whatever I wanted. Also, they took me out to eat serveral times and payed for it. Their efforts go far beyond what they have to do and I really appreciate it. I even could stay three days longer! Also, the rooms where the interns stay are really nice and I really felt like being at home.
Also, working at the project was so much fun. Everybody was so nice and appreciated my work and was thankful for every helping hand. I learned a lot about animals and the Florida wildlife, mostly from Donna!
I can highly recommend this host family and project to anybody :)!
Kind regards
Nadja
Hi, my name is Pia, I‘m 19 years old and I‘m from Germany. From January to March 2018 I stayed in Florida to volunteer at the Florida Wildlife Care project in Coral Springs. It was such a fun time!
When I arrived in Florida, my hostdad Chuck picked me up at the train station and drove me to my new home, where I met my hostmum Donna and the other volunteers who were living with them. I immediatly felt like home because Chuck and Donna are just very funny and sweet people and really want their interns to feel comfortable and as a part of the family. And since they always host a couple of volunteers at the same time, it also feels as if you would live with your friends.
Personally I already miss watching movies with the others or just fooling around with them all the time.
On my first day at work, I got to know the other volunteers. They showed me the Nature Center and told me what to do. Work is basically the same everyday: Changing the animal‘s water and food, cleaning up their poop and make sure they are all ok. But it didn‘t get boring because working with the other volunteers was always fun. Since you work together allday, after just a few days you feel like you know these people for a way longer time! And of course the animals are super cute!
Sometimes we also had some extra time to take some animals outside or just cuddle them.
Taking a walk with an opossum really was a funny experience! Sometimes I also had the chance to feed a cute little baby racoon. I also held a snake, a tarrantula and a baby alligator.
Work could be a little exhausting at times but was still a lot of fun!
Moreover, the area that I was living in was beautiful! Florida really deserves the title of the „Sunshine State“. In those eight weeks that I spent there, there was only one rainy day!
Also, it‘s a great area from where you can do a lot of different fun weekendtrips.
Miami is just an hour by train. Fort Lauderdale (which was one of my favourites) even less.
Also the Everglades are worth a visit! And of course all the different shopping malls!
All in all I really enjoyed my time in Florida! Everything was well organised. I was staying and working with great people, made some new friends and learned a lot about wildlife. Time passed by so quickly! I would always make the same decision and go back there again!