EXPEDITION LIFE
ACCOMMODATION
FOOD
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT   
FREE TIME
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
WEATHER

EXPEDITION LIFE
Help us to protect and conserve the habitats and wildlife of North-eastern Ecuador through education of local and international students and scientific research focused on understanding cloud-forest flora and fauna. 

ACCOMMODATION
You will be staying at the Research Centre and base, high in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest. The centre is low-key, so as to fit in with the natural environment, it is built on several floors, with a maze of corridors and plenty of outside communal space. Rooms are shared with other volunteers, usually 2 or 3 to a room. Individual rooms may be arranged, a single supplement would apply. The centre houses an extensive library and artistic space. There are showers with hot water and toilets.

The land around the station is comprised of 80% primary Tropical Cloud Forest at an elevation of 2100 meters, and connects directly to the large national preserves surrounding the volcanos Antizana and Gran Sumaco. The remaining land is abandoned cattle pasture, but large tracts of continuous forest abound. A well-established trail system provides access to most areas of the reserve.  

Accommodation is simple but with the surrounding cloud-forest, it makes for the most traquil and beautiful setting.

FOOD
Food is predominantly vegetarian, although on occasions chicken is eaten. 

Typical Food
Breakfast: Bread, cheese, jams, fruits, nuts, porridge, yoghurt, occasionally eggs, fruit juice.
Lunch: Rice, beans, lentils, pasta, fish, salad and vegetables.
Dinner: Pizza, soup, bread, fruit, yoghurt, jams. A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT 
There are numerous projects needing your help.  The work that you are involved in depends on the time of year you are at the station, as well as the number of other volunteers on your team. Most projects fit into one of the following areas and you will have athe opportunity to help in several of these. You do not need to be a scientist or have any conservation background to help, you simply need an open mind, interest and enthusiasm and willingness to learn. 

RESEARCH PROJECTS
1) CAPEA (Caterpillars and Parasitoids of the Eastern Andes) is a multinational project involving scientists from around the world and forming part of a latitudinal gradient in caterpillar rearing projects from Canada to Ecuador.  Quest can be a wonderful addition to this project by helping to rear caterpillars, photograph caterpillars, build outreach web pages for the project.  In particular, each group of volunteers can focus on a particular group of butterflies, rearing large quantities of these in a short amount of time.  Your input will help the project considerably by rearing a sample size that it is currently unable to achieve with limited number of volunteers. 
2) BBEA (Breeding Birds of the Eastern Andes) is another ongoing project, which needs volunteer help.  One of the largest is the organisation and dissection of our 300+ nest collection.  Each nest needs to be separated into its component parts (i.e. grass, sticks, leaves, etc), weighed and entered into the database.  In addition, there are many hours of video of birds at their nests, which need to be watched and transcribed into usable scientific data.  For those more forest oriented, the centre needs help searching for and monitoring bird nests as well as helping to run cameras and digitize video. 
3) While the two projects above are the largest, and those always in need of more, there are many other small projects underway, which could use volunteer manpower to help tag plants, find organisms, take photos, etc. 

CENTRE IMPROVEMENT
1) One of the projects which the centre really needs help with is the creation and “stocking” of a native plant garden on the immediate grounds.  This would involve landscaping an area and bringing in seedlings from the forest to plant.  It would also involve the creation of standing (stumps) or hanging (branches) orchid gardens where volunteers would help to build and design these gardens then collect epiphytes and orchids from fallen trees in the forest. 
2) Yanayacu will be commencing a “cavity nesting” bird project.  This involves the construction of hundreds of birdhouses, which will be placed out in the forest to attract nesting birds.  This project is not only important for the station itself, but will facilitate researchers working on otherwise hard to study species. 
3) Yanayacu has, for many years, wanted to build a special facility for black-lighting (putting up an ultraviolet light at night to attract insects).  This would be a relatively simple structure with a roof and walls painted white to place the lights against. 
4) In the future the centre is hoping to create a building specifically for community outreach.  This would be an area where locals could come and observe educational displays, pamphlets, and other conservation-oriented materials. 

COMMUNITY IMPROVMENT/OUTREACH
1) If you are a member of the December team you would be involved in the annual bird count.  Your help is needed to promote the count, going door to door, making flyers, and holding workshops at the station.  You would help to participate in the count, as well as organise local transportation and the distribution of people to maximize the number of birds counted. 
2) Many of the local people walk up and down our 14 km road to sell their produce (generally milk and blackberries).  Yanayacu would very much like to have volunteer help to build a series of small shelters along the road that locals could use during inclement weather. 
3) The station would like to be able to offer “packaged” teaching modules for the local schools.  This project involves creating the necessary materials, which would be given to student groups in the area.  An example would be a set of bags or jars, some handouts about caterpillars and how to rear them in jars, the necessary peripheral equipment such as notebooks, pencils, etc.  You will “test” the module in one of the local schools, modifying it as necessary. 

FREE TIME
You will have 1 - 2 days off each week to relax and enjoy the surrounding area. We will take a trip to the nearby hot springs, enjoy forest walks and there is the opportunity to go river kayaking. There is much to keep you busy, or you may just prefer to lay back in your hammock and relax.


WHO ELSE IS GOING?
Your team will be made up of between 6-18 people and will be led by an experienced QUEST Project Leader. Volunteers on this sabbatical project tend to be aged 25+.  The Ecuador Cloud Forest Conservation Project attracts those with a real interest in wildlife and conservation.

WEATHER
Yanayacu is located on the slopes of the Antizana Volcano and is part of one of the largest intact altitudinal gradients in the eastern Andes. At an elevation of 2100m, the climate is fresh and can be a little chilly at night. The sunshine and rainfall levels vary depending on the time of your visit.