🇪🇨 ESC Volunteering in Ecuador 🌿 Biodiversity Monitoring and Community Engagement in Cotopaxi 📸

Daily walks through Andean biodiversity. Flora and fauna documentation. Social media content made with local youth. Environmental education in community schools. And dialogue circles where volunteers, community members, and the local team exchange experiences and practices together. ICJA is offering an ESC Humanitarian Aid Volunteering placement with Fundación VASE in Toacaso, Cotopaxi, Ecuador — one of the most ecologically rich and community-embedded placements currently available through the ESC programme.

🏔️ About the Project

The project takes place in Toacaso, a community in the Cotopaxi region of Ecuador, alongside the Despierta team and Fundación VASE. Volunteers participate in daily biodiversity work, community engagement, and environmental education — contributing to both scientific documentation and the social fabric of the local community.

📋 What You’ll Do

🦋 Participate in daily biodiversity walks documenting local flora and fauna through observations, photos, videos, and audio recordings

🗺️ Explore new trails together with community members

💻 Process and organise data — classifying and uploading records to a shared Google Drive folder using digital identification tools for preliminary species identification

📱 Create social media content with local youth highlighting community activities, biodiversity, and cultural traditions

🗣️ Participate in dialogue circles with community members, the Despierta team, and fellow volunteers — exchanging experiences and discussing environmental practices

🎓 Support the preparation and delivery of workshops strengthening community organisation and skills

🏫 Assist with environmental education for children and young people in local schools

🎁 What the Project Provides

🏠 A house exclusively for volunteers — individual rooms (3) and shared rooms (3), full bathroom, dining room, kitchen, and rest area

🛒 Access to local community shops to buy products and cook daily

🚌 Transport by walking, bus, or community cars to work locations

📚 Pre-departure online training and on-arrival training in Ecuador

🧑‍🏫 A knowledgeable daily mentor supporting smooth integration into community activities

📊 Mid-term evaluation after 3 months and final evaluation before departure

🔄 A follow-up meeting 1–2 months after returning home

✅ Eligibility Requirements

This is a Humanitarian Aid Volunteering placement:

🔞 Aged 18–35

🌍 Must reside in an EU Member State or associated non-EU country

📅 Must be available for the full six-month period

✅ Must have completed the mandatory face-to-face training before starting

👤 Who Should Apply

Fundación VASE is looking for volunteers who are:

🌿 Passionate about nature and proactive about environmental conservation

📸 Have knowledge or willingness to learn in photography, video editing, and social media

🤝 Open to community processes, cultural exchange, and facing challenges

💪 In good physical condition — daily outdoor walks are part of the role

🧬 Knowledge in ecology, biology, botany, or agroecology is highly valued

💬 Communicative, creative, and team-oriented

🔎 New to ESC Humanitarian Aid Volunteering? Everything about how the programme works is right here: https://youthworkshub.org/15101/

🌍 Eligible Countries

🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇨🇿 Czechia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇬🇷 Greece 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇱🇹 Lithuania 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇲🇹 Malta 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇲🇰 North Macedonia 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇷🇴 Romania 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇷 Türkiye

📅 Activity Dates

🗓️ 1 May 2026 — 30 September 2026 (26 weeks total)

📍 Toacaso, Cotopaxi, Ecuador

⏰ Deadline

1 June 2026

🔗 Link

https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/opportunity/51142_en

✋Important Notice

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