What about "The Earthwatch Institute"?

You may have noted that I have not included the Earthwatch organization in this listing, because I have sought out vacations that are either free of charge (except for airfare) or available at a nominal cost. Earthwatch enlists volunteers to assist noted university professors in their research efforts around the globe, but asks volunteers to donate what seems to be between $1,500 and $2,500 for a two-week stay (and volunteers, of course, secure their own air transportation). That figure, true, works out to considerably less if volunteers treat their costs as a tax-deductible contribution to a non-profit organization. But even considering a possible tax saving, an Earthwatch trip is not the free or nominally-priced activity that I consider a "volunteer vacation."

Having said that, the non-profit Earthwatch Institute trips are among the most impressive, fascinating, and socially-beneficial of all such volunteer efforts, to remote locations where serious work is performed; they also attract a well-read and highly-dedicated volunteer, whose company is alone a reward of working with Earthwatch. Examples of projects in the past? "Spanish Dolphins: Duties evolve to include filming the dolphins behavior underwater, taping acoustic behavior, and tracking their movements over an extended period." "Forests of Bohemia: In the field, you'll collect water samples and take pH, temperature, conductivity, and oxygen readings from more than 20 streams and reservoirs. You'll also catch and examine brook trout, take tissue samples, and sample other stream organisms." "Australia's Forest Marsupials: You'll learn to census arboreal marsupials--Leadbeater's possums, greater gliders, sugar gliders, feathertail gliders--in some of 205 sites, count dens, conduct small mammal surveys, and determine which logging practices have the least impact on these marsupials and 60 bird species." "Bahamian Reef Survey: Snorkelers will learn to conduct a number of measurements along transects: surveying hard corals, gorgonians, sponges, and algae; mapping transect sites; or testing water samples for clarity, salinity, and pH." "Maternal and Child Health in India: Paired with one of Nalamdana's trained field staff as an interpreter, you will help gather nutritional information in 400 households per urban slum or rural village, and supplement the household surveys by assisting in checking women and children for nutrition-related disease at medical clinics."

For more information, contact The Earthwatch Institute, 3 Clock Tower Place, Suite 100, Box 75, Maynard, MA 01754, phone 978/461-0081 or 800/776-0188, e-mail info@earthwatch.org or visit the Web site at earthwatch.org/.

Aiding the outdoors and maintaining the "wild lands"

You achieve this next worthy end by participating in a Sierra Club Service Trip operated in nearly 25 U.S. states by the mighty conservationist organization called the Sierra Club, now 700,000 members strong. Because many of the trips are subsidized by corporate donations, fees are low: ranging from $40/day to $100/day, usually including all the expenses of a seven-day tour of duty, except for transportation to the site. There are 70-odd service trips offered each year, and though there are a handful East of the Mississippi (North Carolina, Virginia, etc.), most are in the wide-open country out West.

You perform your "service" in some of the most enchanting places in all of America, many times in remote and less accessible areas like the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico, the Washakie Wilderness of Wyoming, the Adirondack Forest Preserve of New York, the Volcanoes National Park of Hawaii, Bryce Canyon in Utah. There are also chances to work in environments you might not expect, such as the public parks of New York City. Though half the work is related to trail maintenance--by encouraging visitors to use well-marked trails, and limit their wanderings to them, the Sierra Club protects the delicate ecosystems of the park--projects extend to numerous other matters such as meadow restoration, revegetation projects, archaelogical digs and wildlife research projects (one wildlife research projects centers on humpback whale monitoring off the coast of Maui). "Workdays," says one description of a Sierra Club project, "will be divided between cleaning up nearby abandoned mining towns and reconstructing part of the Brown Basin Trail." Says another: "We will revegetate campsites." Or "our work will include cleanup and maintenance in and around the most imposing prehistoric ruins of the Southwest"; "we will cut and clear downed trees and underbrush from ... around Chub Pond north of Old Forge."

Half the days of most trips are devoted to simple enjoyment of the wilderness; half are workdays. Lodging is in rustic cabins, lodges, tents (participants must bring personal camping gear) or hostels (in New York City); most trips have cooks to prepare meals--but everyone is expected to "lend a hand" in meal preparation; companionship is provided by vital, dynamic Americans of all ages. Complete descriptions of each service trip are set forth annually in the January/February edition (occasionally in other months as well) of Sierra, official magazine of the club. For a copy of that listing, write to: Sierra Club Outing Department, 85 Second Street, Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, phone 415/977-5500. You can also search for volunteer opportunities on the Sierra Club Web site (sierraclub.org/, click on "get outdoors" on the right side of the screen), or send an e-mail to national.outings@sierraclub.org.

Slightly different in character is the even more extensive program of volunteer work projects in national and state parks, and national forests, for which the American Hiking Society serves as clearinghouse. Each year it lists nearly 100 trail-building and park maintenance opportunities, for which food and lodging costs are nominal; volunteers provide the open-air parks with services that tight budgets will not allow the government agencies themselves to supply. Thus, for a weekend or as long as two weeks people act as trail-builders, restoring footpaths, refurbishing, old cabins, constructing log bridges, and practicing stone masonry across the country--and what "aerobics" that entails! "We clear brush, grub out stumps, trim vegetation, remove downed trees, repair erosion damage, and generally keep trails open ... using hand tools like shovel, pick, pulaski, and saw.... It's strenuous," says an A.H.S. publication. Weeklong work vacations usually cost between $90 and $125, plus an extra $25 fee for non-members.

To order a copy of "Get Outside," A.H.S.'s guide to volunteer vacations in the outdoors send a check for $10.95 (plus $4 shipping and handling) to AHS, Get Outside, 1422 Fenwick Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20910. For further information, contact American Hiking Society by phone at 301/565-6704. You can also view A.H.S.'s extensive Web site, including the full list of volunteer opportunities, at americanhiking.org/.

Conserving nature world wide Fo
r those interested in taking a "reen "holiday, one which involves volunteer conservation work such as repairing footpaths or monitoring turtles, The British Trust For Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) offers many excellent opportunities in Britain and beyond at a low cost. For one week on a UK program, the price is roughly £100, which covers housing, meals, instruction and equipment. To join an international program, the cost can range from £100 to £970 per week. In return, volunteers take an active role in helping promote conservation of the world ' plant and animal life.

If the UK is your destination of choice, you can participate in one of BTCV's "Natural Breaks," which are offered year round and range from two to 19 days of work, with a typical work day starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. The rate varies according to the length of stay and the choice of accommodations, which are classified by BTCV into three categories: "simple," sleeping on a camping mat on the floor of a village hall, "standard," staying in youth hostel dormitories or camping, and "superior," housing in holiday cottages which may offer full catering. Groups are composed of up to 12 conservation and wildlife enthusiasts ages 16 and up. You must be 18 or older to participate in the international trips.