During this Environmental Engineering Internship focused on biodiversity, students experience professional life supervised by experts in order to promote learning techniques on the one hand and a reconnection with nature on the other.

As a volunteer participating in our project activities:

• Immerse yourself in the local culture of southern Thailand, in community life and learn the Thai language.
• Learn technical and practical methods of ecological restoration.
• Participate in international research projects and attend seminars, workshops and conferences led by researchers and university professors.
• Participate in our community-based ecological restoration projects in the 5 ecosystems.
• Help to restore the rainforest ecosystem and conserve the stump-tailed macaque.
• Be involved in community-based mangrove restoration.
• Aid community conservation of seagrass beds and dugongs.
• Conserve and propagate coral reefs.
• Participate in the implementation of our educational programs and awareness campaigns.

As our goal is to create transformative experiences for our volunteers, you will also have many opportunities to venture into the Krabi wonderland and participate in interesting optional activities, such as:

– ROCK CLIMBING (our centre is located at the foot of a mountain with over 130 sport climbing routes).

– SCUBA & FREE DIVING & SNORKELING/ ISLAND EXPLORATION: Although you do not need to be a diver to participate in our project activities, you can enroll in our scuba diving courses and become a certified diver.

– WELLNESS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES: Practices include: yoga, tai chi / qi gong, reiki and sound healing, mindfulness-based practices. You can choose to take a REIKI level 1, level 2 and Master certification course.

– WORKSHOPS ON PERMACULTURE AND SUSTAINABLE LIVING: Natural building, composting, companion strategies, system design and other practices that contribute to the regeneration of the system we live in.

There is a possibility to specialise in a single field, here are the proposed subjects of study:

RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION

This program aims to strengthen the adaptive capacity of local communities, and to support nature-based social innovation and socio-ecological resilience.

The objectives of this assignment are:

• To support research for ecosystem restoration, resource level monitoring, data analysis, and community-led adaptation efforts.
• To co-develop textbooks and learning programs for schools and professional development centers.
• To co-design “nature-based solutions”, alternative livelihoods and community events for social-ecological resilience.

RESTORATION OF THE TROPICAL FOREST

• Protect terrestrial ecosystems and the local communities that depend on them, and increase forest cover and natural habitat connectivity.
• Carry out restoration research, framework species selection, plant nursery establishment, and forest monitoring.
• Use aerial drone surveys to monitor forest cover expansion and the establishment of biodiversity corridors.
• Follow agroecological models for food security and the renewal of traditional ecological knowledge.
• Carbon offsets are funded by regional and international organisations to secure alternative livelihoods.
• Integration of the program into education, eco-tourism, and citizen science, including the development of school programs, a labelled eco-tourism program, and educational tools for citizens.
• Project promotion and knowledge sharing through active communication with all stakeholders, from policy makers to scientists and civil society.

CONSERVATION OF MARINE FLORA AND DUGONGS

Establish a community-based conservation initiative in the Andaman region to safeguard the food security and resilience of communities vulnerable to climate change.

• Participate in the design of conservation areas.
• Develop technical expertise, including the establishment of plant nurseries, the development of methodological tools for monitoring marine flora.
• Work on the extension of the coverage of the marine flora.
• Help the integration of the program into education, eco-tourism and citizen science, including the development of the school program, the labelled eco-tourism program and citizen education tools.
• Project promotion and knowledge sharing through active communication with all stakeholders, from policy makers to scientists and civil society.

RESTORATION OF THE MANGROVE

Initiate and coordinate a community-based mangrove restoration effort aimed at increasing social and ecological resilience.

The objectives of this project are:

• The design, through participatory methodologies, of mangrove conservation areas co-managed by communities.
• Technical capacity building and leadership in mangrove nursery creation, in situ propagation, biodiversity monitoring and assessment.
• Joint design of alternative livelihoods, participatory market needs assessment and financial plans.

CORAL REEF RESEARCH AND RESTORATION

Coordinate a coral reef restoration and sustainable fisheries effort that is community-based and aimed at increasing socio-ecological resilience. The objectives of this project are:

• To develop a diagnostic tool and protocols for an adapted and contextualized restoration of the reefs.
• To establish a network of collaborative partners for reef expansion and ecological restoration on a regional scale.
• To develop experiential educational materials and vocational training for local schools and community members interested in learning new skills.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Leading integrated waste management and circular economy in Krabi province.

The objectives of the project are:

• To develop an integrated waste management system and education program to be implemented in schools and major learning centers.
• To improve sorting systems and infrastructure, involving multiple actors through institutions and social organisations at different levels.
• To optimise disposal options towards effective recycling/reuse or complete destruction, including the development of an effective composting system.