Hooked on Volunteer Vacations

As Eugene Rowe snowshoed through Yellowstone National Park in the winter of 1993, he carried with him some conventional wisdom: You must steer clear of the buffalo, and you can’t go backward on your snowshoes.

Rowe was heading to an observation post where he could safely monitor the winter feeding habits of the park’s animals. He had just learned how to snowshoe; his legs were sore. As he slogged up over a slight rise he found himself 20 feet from a massive bull buffalo.

“You can go backward on snowshoes,” says Rowe emphatically. “If you’re terrified.”

Let’s consider, for a moment, the key elements of Rowe’s situation: freezing cold, hard work, unscheduled meeting with an ugly, unpredictable quadruped.

Let’s also consider this: Rowe was on vacation.

Every year thousands of Americans like Eugene Rowe volunteer their precious vacation time to help others instead of pampering themselves. They trade room service for camp chow, suites for dorm rooms, deck chairs for hammers and shovels.

Most of this volunteer work involves projects in four broad categories: environmental--repairing hiking trails or maintaining campgrounds in U.S. national parks; humanitarian--building low-cost housing in Mexico, training medical workers in Tanzania; cultural--renovating medieval buildings in Europe, building community parks in Turkey; field research--digging up dinosaurs in Montana, counting songbirds in Puerto Rico.

Volunteer vacations are often strenuous and aren’t necessarily cheap. While most projects offer free room and board, volunteers generally pay their own transportation costs. And organizations specializing in scientific fieldwork also require hefty “contributions” to support the research.

So, why would anybody put up with this?

To get an answer, let’s return to Yellowstone and, as he back-pedals from a huge and possibly cantankerous buffalo, ask Eugene Rowe.

“No. 1, it’s fun,” Rowe says. “No. 2, I learn a lot. No. 3, I can give something back to the environment.”

Rowe, 68, a retired veterinarian from Virginia, speaks of his volunteer experiences with passion and a Southern accent like the late Red Barber’s. Since 1983, he has joined 43 projects sponsored by Earthwatch, the leader in scientific research volunteerism. Along with his Yellowstone experience, he has tackled kangaroos in Australia, studied baboons in Ethiopia, monitored pollution in Russia’s Lake Baikal. He’s planning to join four more projects this year.

“I’ve been on cruise trips and to resorts, but no vacation gives me what Earthwatch gives me,” Rowe says. “I’m elbow to elbow with some of the top scientists in the world.”

So far, I’m 41 projects behind Rowe, but I understand his enthusiasm. My own two volunteer vacations were indelible experiences.

The first, connected with the University of California, involved an archeological survey in southern Israel. In essence, this meant we wandered the countryside looking for ancient stuff.

It was easy. You can’t spread a picnic blanket in Israel without covering up some bit of old pottery or mosaic tile. We found Neolithic arrowheads; household items from Byzantine times (around 300 to 700 AD); shell casings from Israel’s 1948 war of independence.

In fact, we found artifacts from almost every era except the Philistine (circa 1100 BC), which, sadly, was what the project’s researcher wanted. In the end, the four volunteers had a blast and the researcher tried again the next season with a new crew.

My second volunteer trip, five years ago, was with an Earthwatch expedition studying ancient Aboriginal art painted and carved on rocky outcrops in northern Australia.

Our team of 11 volunteers was divided into three work groups, fancifully dubbed Rovers, Owls and Argonauts. I joined the Argonauts because their job was to wander around looking for stuff. This time, however, it wasn’t easy. Take our search for the red kangaroo, for example.

Some local ranchers had spotted a spectacular painting of a 9-foot-tall red kangaroo with two spirit figures under its belly. Guided only by a fuzzy photograph of the painting and an X penciled on a topographical map, the Argonauts piled into a Land Rover and drove toward a sandstone escarpment a few miles past an oasis called Johnson Waterhole.

When the terrain got too rough, we stopped and got out. Nigel Peacock, one of the researchers, checked a compass heading and the five of us strode off into the outback. Every few hundred yards, we tied pink surveyor’s tape to a tree branch so we could find our way back.

We got to the escarpment around noon. The air temperature was at least 100; heat poured off the sandstone. We had lots of water in the Land Rover but, stupidly, hadn’t brought enough with us. To make matters worse, some tick bites on Peacock’s legs had begun to fester, leaving him weak and slightly feverish. We sat under eucalyptus trees, waiting for the sun to drop.

At 2:30, we decided to search the area for one hour before returning. Fortunately, we found it in less than 10 minutes--a huge red kangaroo painted on a dramatic rock face.

After a preliminary survey of the site, we started back. Peacock marched stoically in front. Stiff upper lip. I trudged behind him thinking only one thing: To hell with the red kangaroo; all I wanted to find was the blue 50-gallon water barrel back at the Land Rover.

But Indiana Jones is not the patron saint of volunteer vacationers. More often the work is unromantic. The Rovers on my project had to photograph and measure each art site, sketch the major paintings on graph paper and draw maps. Much of this was done in cramped rock shelters filled with flies, kangaroo ticks and dust. The Owls had an even more tedious job, cataloging thousands of ancient grooves cut into stone at a place the Aboriginals called “Owl Dreaming.”

This is one reason volunteerism isn’t a major slice of the vacation market. Even Earthwatch counted only 4,000 volunteers in 1996--less than two shiploads on the Caribbean cruise liner Sun Princess.

Two exceptions are the U.S. government, which offers myriad volunteer opportunities at parks around the country, and Habitat for Humanity International, the house-building organization whose participants include former President Carter. Habitat says it attracts more than 250,000 volunteers each year through hundreds of worldwide affiliates.

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There are many volunteer vacation options. One valuable guide is Bill McMillon’s “Volunteer Vacations” (Chicago Review Press), which lists more than 150 organizations in the U.S. alone.

The following examples are well-known, nonprofit, nondenominational agencies in existence for at least 10 years. Unless noted, costs do not include transportation.

Some volunteer expenditures are tax deductible, but be careful. If you add a regular vacation onto a volunteer stint, for example, the air fare to the volunteer project may not be deductible. Ask a tax specialist.

* American Hiking Society, P.O. Box 20160, Washington, DC 20041; tel. (301) 565-6704.

Overview: Establishes and renovates trails. Wilderness camping; can be strenuous.

Typical projects: Maintain trail, cabins, Steese National Conservation Area, Alaska; restore part of Pacific Crest Trail, Owens Peak, Calif.

Location: U.S.

Volunteer costs: $65 registration, plus camping gear. Some projects require extra $40 per week for food.

Dates: 1 to 2 weeks; April to October.

Misc.: Minimum age, 18.

* Archaeological Institute of America, Boston University, 656 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02215-2010; tel. (617) 353-9361.

Overview: National organization. Each year publishes “Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin,” which includes requests for volunteers for hundreds of digs worldwide.

* Council on International Educational Exchange, 205 E. 42nd St., New York, NY 10017; tel. (800) 349-2433.

Overview: Placement service for numerous international organizations. Groups of 10 to 20 work on community projects in conservation, construction, archeology, social service. Attracts 20- to 30-year-olds.

Typical projects: Renovation of grounds, Horazdovice Castle, Czech Republic; renovation of ancient abbey, Vallee D’Aulps, France.

Location: Worldwide.

Dates:Mostly 2-week projects; summer.

Volunteer costs: $295 and some additional local fees.

Misc: Minimum age, 18; some projects have maximum age of 30 or 35.

* Crow Canyon Archaeological Center,23390 County Road K, Cortez, CO 81321; tel. (800) 422-8975.

Overview: Archeological research focusing on Southwest pueblo culture.

Typical projects: Digs in Mesa Verde region of Colorado.

Location: Southwest U.S.

Volunteer costs: About $700 per week.

Dates: 1 to 4 weeks; May through September.

Misc: Minimum age, 16; numerous student projects.

* Earthwatch, 680 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, MA 02272-9924; tel. (800) 776-0188.

Overview: More than 130 research expeditions. Archeology, public health, wildlife management, art and more.

Typical projects: Excavate ancient settlements, northeast Thailand; inventory plants, animals, Baja California; monitor prenatal care, Bali.

Location: Worldwide.

Volunteer costs: $700 to $2,100 (one monthlong cheetah study in Namibia is $3,500).

Dates: Usually 2-week projects, year-round.

Misc.: Minimum age, 16; kids with parents sometimes OK; some projects require scuba skills.

* Global Volunteers, 375 E. Little Canada Road, St. Paul, MN 55117-1628; tel. (800) 487-1074.

Overview: Community development projects such as construction, teaching, health care.

Typical projects: Teach conversational English, Ostuni, Italy; help build classrooms, Tan Hiep, Vietnam.

Location: 13 countries, including U.S.

Volunteer costs: $350 to $2,350.

Dates: 1 to 3 weeks; year-round.

Misc.: Minimum age, 16; kids OK with parents.

* Habitat for Humanity International, 121 Habitat St., Americus, GA 31709; tel. (912) 924-6935.

Overview: Builds low-cost housing for underprivileged. More than 1,300 affiliates in U.S.; many more in 51 other countries.

Projects: Building houses with and for local people in need.

Locations: Worldwide.

Dates: 1 to 3 weeks; year-round.

Volunteer costs: $1,100 to $3,000 for international projects.

Misc.: Children under 18 restricted to non-construction jobs; construction skills not mandatory.

* La Sabranenque Restoration Projects, 217 High Park Blvd., Buffalo, NY 14226; tel. (716) 836-8698.

Overview: Small French organization with U.S. office. Helps preserve rural and medieval buildings in France and Italy.

Typical projects: Restore 14th century farm, Altamura, Italy; reconstruction of village houses, Saint Victor la Coste, France.

Location: France, Italy.

Volunteer costs: $535 to $1,040.

Dates: 1 to 3 weeks; summer.

Misc.: Minimum age, 18; some knowledge of French or Italian helpful.

* Oceanic Society Expeditions, Fort Mason Center, Building E, San Francisco, CA 94123; tel. (800) 326-7491.

Overview: Part of environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth. Helps doctoral or master’s candidates with projects, mostly dealing with ocean wildlife and habitat.

Typical projects: Map coral reef habitat, Midway Atoll; study behavior of bottlenose dolphins, Belize.

Location: Belize, Caribbean, Midway Atoll, California coast, Amazon.

Volunteer costs: $255 to $2,540; some projects include air fare.

Dates: 1 to 2 weeks; June to December.

Misc.: Minimum age, 16; must know how to swim; scuba skills sometimes required.

* Sierra Club, 85 2nd St., San Francisco, CA 94105; tel. (415) 977-5522.

Overview: National environmental watchdog. Not considered a nonprofit group because of its lobbying activities. Offers “service” outings along with backpack and other tours.

Typical projects: Trail maintenance, north rim of the Grand Canyon; re-vegetation project, Santa Rosa Island, Calif.

Location: U.S.

Volunteer costs: $230-$675.

Dates: 7 to 10 days; February through November.

Misc: Minimum age, 16; kids usually OK with parents; volunteers must be Sierra Club members ($24 per person fee).

* University Research Expeditions Program, Desk J-03, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; tel. (510) 642-6586.

Overview: Helps University of California researchers, often graduate students, do fieldwork. Special programs for teachers.

Typical projects: Excavate prehistoric sites around Lake Titicaca, Peru; survey plant life, Parque Nacional de Itatiaia, Brazil.

Location: Worldwide.

Volunteer costs: $785 to $1,800; some partial scholarships available.

Dates: 1 to 3 weeks, mostly in summer.

Misc.: Minimum age, 16; kids sometimes OK with parents; college academic credit possible.

* U.S. Government

Overview: Vast number of volunteer opportunities, many connected to national parks, forests and wilderness areas. For more information, call: Bureau of Land Management, (202) 452-5078; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (800) 865-8337; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (703) 358-2029; U.S. Forest Service, (703) 235-8858.

Typical projects: Wildlife management, office work, archeology, campground hosting, campground maintenance.

Volunteer costs: Volunteers are typically responsible for travel and room and board. However, stipends sometimes available.

Location: U.S.

Dates: From days to months; year-round.

Misc.: Minimum age, 18; kids can volunteer at local parks with parent.