While you can always travel solo with AEI we wanted to highlight two group trips, one with AEI and one not officially with us. We don't normally highlight trips that aren't run with our official partners but we can't think of a more important project right now.
Project Red Shed is looking for volunteers in June to help rebuild and better the infrastructure at a domestic animal rescue at the boarder of Hungary and Ukraine. This shelter was already poorly funded, under-resourced and overcrowded BEFORE the war. It is now unable to cope with the amount of Ukrainian animals it has been asked to take in and Red Shed is looking to help them. If you are good at building, carpentry and getting your hands dirty, this is a project for you. Again, you won't be travelling with AEI but we believe in this project so much, we wanted to help anyone who could volunteer, learn about this opportunity. For more details please visit: https://projectredshed.com/
If you want to volunteer *with* AEI in 2022, you should come to Nepal with us to volunteer with dogs, cats and cows!
This will be our 4th Expedition and this time we are going to the roof top of the world. Come with us to Nepal for 10 full days of volunteering with dogs, visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites, hiking through terraced fields and taking part in activities that don't just help animals- they help the local population, too.
For all accomodation, meals, in-country transportation, access and administration to all UNESCO sites, fully guided day trek, full volunteer fees and donations to the centres, the trip will be $2495 Canadian.
Doesn't sound like your thing? Remember that you can sign up to travel independently throughout the year. Most of our programs are offered year round, so you can plan an adventure that works best for you. We help with your airport pick up, pre-departure training, accommodation is always included and remember we have visited all the placements first to make sure we know they are safe, ethical and authentic.
Give travel to your friends, your family and yourself!
Last month we were mentioned in the New York Times article when Airbnb announced they would be helping people experience animals! Working with local animal programs you can go check out sea turtle programs or the day, have tea with ponies and visit with penguins. We LOVE this idea especially because World Animal Protection is behind them making sure all these experiences meet pretty high ethical and humane standards. No swimming with dolphins over here!
We also love this idea because it gives people the opportunity to dip their feet into the water of animal welfare and care so they can sign up for a longer experience with us later. Go visit animal welfare programs and wildlife rescue centres, see if you like them and then come volunteer with AEI! Why not?
Last month when I was in South Africa I tried an Airbnb experience to see how they operated and I was delighted! I went to the Cape of Good Hope with a woman that used to be a park ranger. She knew all the beautiful places to hike and was able to point out loads of animals I wouldn’t have even noticed!
Do yourself a favour, read the article, get better acquainted with animal adventures and then send us a message! Tis the season to give memories instead of things.
Give ethical and safe animal adventures to your friends, your family and yourself!
Same trip, different perspectives...
We love hearing from our alumni. Reading their blogs, seeing their pictures, chatting over the shared experiences… it’s all wonderful. It’s so special to see adventures through the eyes of different people, we get to know these places, these people, these experiences even more. But what happens when everyone writes about the same thing? When we lead a group of women to The Great Rift Valley for giraffe conservation and everyone writes about cape buffalo?
Well… it must take a very special event, right? You be the judge!
Nora’s account of Expedition Kenya: https://pinkpangea.com/…/mother-daughter-bonding-rampaging…/
Lauren’s account of Expedition Kenya: https://justinpluslauren.com/my-near-death-experience-in-k…/
Marilyn’s account of account of Expedition Kenya: https://50plusworld.com/meeting-the-beast-even-lions-wont-…/
Happy reading!
Everyday Should Be World Wildlife Day...
When you were younger we bet that you had a favourite animal. Do you remember what it was? Maybe it was a horse that you imagined running across endless fields? Perhaps it was a majestic elephant - or even a herd of elephants? Was it a sea turtle you once saw tucking itself into corral to find a snack? Maybe it was a beautiful rainbow macaw flying through tropical jungles or a monkey who watched you from its forest home. Remember how they felt so distant, so wild and free?
Well today they need your help to stay that way. But the good news is, they are no longer distant dreams. Now that you are grown up, you can volunteer with these animals and help conserve their populations world wide. From dolphin conservation in Croatia to wildlife rehabilitation in Guatemala, we have programs for all you animal lovers. Whatever resonated with you when you were younger will benefit from your help now. And we think it's the perfect year for you to live your childhood dreams.
It's not World Wildlife Day (that was March 3rd) but why not make it every day? And what better way to celebrate than to apply to volunteer with your favourite childhood animals!
Australian Wildlife
Australia Day brings lots of questions and lots of concerns. What does reconciliation look like? What does conservation look like? What does honouring the future look like when we don't want to forget the past? One thing that can bring us all together is the special and endemic species and ecosystems of Australia. They need to be protected- from us humans.
Australia doesn't just have cute animals, it has important and unique animals that aren't found anywhere else on Earth. It has animals that need to be protected while communities are invested in and protected. Visiting Australia means learning more about their natural and historical contexts to understand better what needs to be protected and how. It means understanding there aren't easy answers.
We all share this planet, the natural world IS where we live. Volunteering can help us share- with each other and the animals, just a little better.
When you think about visiting Australia consider volunteering with it's remarkable wildlife. They need you and the story when you come back home is a story that needs to be told.
