Most of the activities of this biodiversity and environment course take place in a natural park that surrounds a part of Lisbon. The distance to the volunteer house is about one hour by public transport.

Like all of our environmental internship programs, the biodiversity project in Portugal allows you to gain university credits while having a positive and sustainable impact on the region’s ecosystem.

The forest conservation program helps develop and implement initiatives such as ecological protection of degraded areas and restoration of forests and endemic species, involving the community as much as possible.

Indeed, forests and natural parks guarantee us a great diversity of ecosystems, thanks to the conservation of natural resources, the control of soil erosion, the regulation of water, the filtration of water, the recycling of nutrients, the formation of soil, the capture of carbon dioxide, the filtration of atmospheric pollutants, the softening of the climate, the production of raw materials and the reduction of fire and flood risks.

The forest protection project aims to enhance natural heritage, reduce environmental damage, regenerate and restore natural areas, promote biodiversity and restore ecological functions, mainly through the restoration of the endemic forest.

The role of the intern, as a member of the field team, is to study and learn about each area and forest, and to take different measurements depending on the time of year.

These field duties may include:

• applying techniques to control invasive species, which were mistakenly introduced in recent decades for rapid reforestation and now pose a significant threat to natural areas;
• planting different species with different methodologies depending on the season
• maintenance of planted areas;
• protection of biodiversity niches;
• management of hiking trails.