Wildlife conservation and community volunteer projects and internships worldwide

Volunteer in Europe

"My two weeks spent in Slovakia were absolutely incredible. Every day we were surrounded by incredible scenery while getting the chance to contribute to a worthwhile project alongside people from all over the world."

Caitlin Bubb, Australia

View Our Projects

From the sparse, snowy landscapes of the northern tips, to the dramatic oceanside cliffs and hidden white sandy beaches of the south – and every tall mountain, crisp lake, dense forest, secret canal and magnificent city in-between – Europe holds some of the most beautiful sites to see – both manmade and natural – on the planet.  There is so much history in the innate architecture scattered across most of the capitals and there is so much wonder in the untouched, natural landscapes that find themselves nestled amongst some of the busiest cities in the world.  All in all, there is a lifetime of exploring to be done across this continent.

As a volunteer in Europe, you can take part in wildlife research and conservation projects across the continent, including volunteering with dolphin and whale research programmes in Italy, Portugal, Scotland, Greece and Croatia, wildlife tracking volunteering with wolves in Slovakia, working in a wolf sanctuary in Portugal and tree planting and ecological restoration in Iceland.

Our Projects in Europe

Ian Brunt, UK

"I absolutely loved my time volunteering. There was almost nothing that I could wish to have changed except perhaps having even more sightings, but that would have just been greedy. The boat, people, weather, scenery and wildlife were all I could have hoped for. "

Ian Brunt, UK
Caitlin Bubb, Australia

"My two weeks spent in Slovakia were absolutely incredible. Every day we were surrounded by incredible scenery while getting the chance to contribute to a worthwhile project alongside people from all over the world."

Caitlin Bubb, Australia
Jésabelle, Belgium

"The 2 weeks I spent on the project were absolutely amazing and an experience that I will never forget. Everything was perfect: the group of volunteers, the organisation of the day-to- day activities, the days spent on or off the sea, and of course, our encounters with the dolphins!"

Jésabelle, Belgium
Interesting Facts

Interesting Facts

  • Europe is the second smallest continent in the world, just behind Oceania.
  • At the same time, it is home to the largest country in the world, Russia, which takes up 40% of the continent’s land area.
  • The etymology for the word “Europe” is still uncertain. Some people like to think that it came from Europa, one of Zeus’s many wives in Greek mythology.
  • Europe is also called as Frangistan or “the land of the Franks” in the vernacular of some Turkic languages.
  • The world’s largest colony of ants was found in Europe. This colony measured a whopping 6,000 km long, and spanned all the way from near the Atlantic coast of Spain to the northern part of Italy.
Wildlife in Europe

Wildlife in Europe

With such a wide-ranging collection of landscapes and ecosystems, becoming a volunteer in Europe has so much to offer in the way of wildlife and biodiversity despite many people seeing it as a place of busy cities and large human populations.  Europe has some of the most beautiful sets of natural parks and reserves.   In fact, several European countries feature on the list of countries with the largest proportions of their areas set aside as protected lands.

There are some beautiful species scattered across these regions, that you could experience as a volunteer in Europe. For example, the Eurasian wolf (which you can research on our Wolf Tracking volunteer project in Slovakia) and the Iberian Wolf (at our Wolf Sanctuary project in Portugal). There is also the Eurasian lynx, the European bison, the Eurasian brown bear, red deer, reindeer and arctic foxes. You could also encounter the mighty Fin Whale and Sperm Whale, and research them as a volunteer on our Dolphin and Whale research volunteer projects in Italy and Scotland. While you could also join bottlenose dolphin research projects in Croatia, Portugal and Greece, should you choose to volunteer in Europe.

Conservation Threats

Conservation Threats

In such a popular space, one of the key threats across Europe is increasing habitat loss and the encroachment of human populations on nature.  As said, there is a considerable amount of space in certain European countries dedicated to conservation which you can witness through our European volunteer programmes, but the threat of growing populations still proves concerning.  Habitat destruction and loss also makes various species and biodiversity more vulnerable to other threats such as climate change, pollution and invasive species.

Sustainability is crucial to a prosperous future, for both wildlife and humans, across Europe.  If you join us as a volunteer in Europe, you can play your part by contributing to dolphin and whale conservation in the Mediterranean as well as sea turtle research and conservation in Greece.