Sea Turtle and Marine Conservation Field Assistant

MARINE CONSERVATION FIELD ASSISTANT WANTED

 IWCI is a new marine conservation project on the very beautiful island of Rawa, just northwest of Pulau Perhentian, Malaysia. The island is located within a marine reserve, completely uninhabited - with a small nesting turtle population.

Our focus this season has been coral assessments, regeneration, sea turtle conservation and tourism outreach.

In 2018 we carried out initial surveys of the habitat and monitoring of the nesting turtles. Our research focused on corals, fish, birds, sharks, green turtles and GIS mapping.

To see the work we have been doing visit:

www.facebook.com/islandwatchconservationinitiatives

The role  

Island Watch are looking for someone with enthusiasm and passion for this new project, we have achieved so much in the last few months and would welcome a new team member who wants to get onboard with continuing our efforts.

Your main focus will be helping to lead our small volunteer team at the field site on a rota basic, shared with other interns, and you will be responsible for collecting coral data and turtle data and to engage and educate our volunteers on the important surveys we are carrying out.

Your time will be split between our project site and our main camp, spending 3 days at the project site and return for 2-3 days to main camp,on a rota system.

You will also be training volunteers in basic marine surveys.

You will have the opportunity to develop our outreach strategies and surveys, if you are proactive and engaged.

You can take on, design and implement your own small project as part of the internship.

You need to be adaptable and use initiative. As we are small and new, this role needs someone who wants to have input, which is rewarding if you have passion for this type of work.

Our current surveys-

- Green turtle monitoring

- Coral and algae cover surveys

- Coral health surveys

- Tourist carrying capacity research

- Population density of drupella sp.

- Human impacts on foraging sea turtles

- Outreach with locally businesses and tourists

As a member of a small volunteer team living together, you will help out with camp chores such as food shopping, cooking and cleaning on a rota basis. You will need to be sociable, respectful of other cultures and enjoy communal living.

Those looking to join us should be relatively fit and acquainted with the rigours of outdoor living (especially on Rawa), and not too afraid of creepy-crawlies.  

ACCOMMODATION

Your time will be split between:

Camp 1) our project site is on the beach at Rawa, as you carry out research on the island and patrol for turtle nests.

Camp 2) main camp is on the grounds of Hayati’s Resthouse on Pulau Perhentian Besar – a property half an hour away by our own wooden slow boat. Here you will have shared accomodation in an open-air living space, with showers, toilets, cooking facilities – and restaurants nearby -  

Photos here, including the open-air living space:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11OE12i0S1tM2wAGQJITl7OgrFmlvDLs1/view?usp=sharing

FREE TIME

You are free to partake in extra leisure activities during your downtime, and we can guarantee 1 day off a week. Activities include: trekking through the jungle, finding secluded snorkelling spots, taking photos, playing games on camp, visiting nearby restaurants and more!  There is also the option to go scuba diving on the Perhentian Islands.

This is a real pilot project so we aim to assess the feasibility to continue the work we do, by gathering enough data to assure we can make a valuable change and eventually obtain support to aid the project. This is only possible with efforts from volunteers to establish IWCI in its early years.

Dates

The role is to start ASAP- 12th October 2019.

Our monsoon begins some time in October 2019 in which we close the project site until March 2020.

This position is UNPAID. Basic living costs will be covered including meals and accommodation.

Interns will need to cover their own transport to & from Pulau Perhentian, Malaysia.

So, if you are:

- Outgoing and a team minded person

-  Marine biology/conservation graduate or have worked in turtle conservation.

-   Knowledgeable/have experience with coral restoration projects - a bonus but not compulsory.

-  Eager to help with setting up an early stage local conservation effort

-   Not easily sea-sick- as travel will be by boat

-   Motivated, enthusiastic and have a positive attitude! Compulsory.

-   Able to work in remote location

-   Able to swim

-   Willing to work and learn in a small team

Please provide a letter of interest to Eloisia Wild, explaining why you are ideal for the role and a C.V.

Email : volunteer.iwci@gmail.com

If you have any questions about the role please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Application deadline - 20th August 2019