By Angie Aspinall

Thanks to the hard work of the charity Earth, Sea and Sky and volunteers of ARCHELON Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, there are some successful Loggerhead turtle nesting sites on Zakynthos. While nesting beaches are constantly under threat from encroaching tourism, by being a considerate tourist – or helping out as a volunteer – you can do your bit towards preserving this endangered species.

Many of our readers are interested in volunteer opportunities around the world, and are active supporters of travel experiences that help give back to local communities. We’re therefore very proud to collaborate with our blog partner Go Overseas, a leading review site for international study, volunteer, internship and teaching programs. We’ve interviewed Katie Boyer, Volunteer Abroad Director for Go Overseas, to learn more about their work and get to know the volunteer travel field better.

Beginning in January of 2010, Blue Ventures, already in its eighth year of operation, began a project with the Belizean community of Sarteneja, the Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development (SACD) and other organizations to understand the impact the local coastal communities have on the nearby reef. For six weeks, volunteers with the Belize project are able to conduct research with Blue Ventures and their partner organization, the SACD.

Global Vision International (GVI) runs responsible volunteering programs in over 40 countries around the world, and is one of the largest and most respected volunteer abroad organisations in the world. Guided by a unique commitment to volunteers and partners, GVI run almost all of their own operations. This unique ground up approach to volunteer travel allows GVI to run sustainable long-term projects that volunteers can join and contribute on for short periods of time, from two weeks to two years.

Fundacion Chacras de Buenos Aires works with local community members who are vulnerable to various social circumstances and are in need of support in areas such as social reintegration, psychiatric assistance, protection against rural isolation and gender discrimination. Working with volunteers, Chacras de Buenos Aires runs a program called “Sembrando Vida,” (“Planting Life”) to support Psicoasistencial Hospital Josá Tiburcio BORDA in Buenos Aires.

By Kim Houghton, Marketing Manager, African Impact

Volunteering offers an opportunity to see and experience a culture in a way that’s not possible through conventional travel. By visiting parts of the world not available as a normal holiday destination, you become immersed into a local community. No longer bystanders on the side of the road, volunteers, with dirty hands and broad smiles, are integrated into the local community in a way they would not have been before.

By Aaron Smith, Founder, GoVoluntouring

Thinking about Volunteering on your trip? Sure you’ve given it enough thought? Some of us look for opportunities that balance more contemporary comforts within their experiences, while others look for more ‘iconically’ representative options, which can be hosted in more challenging and/or intimate environments. Either way, there are only two pillars of decision making, and they are based on how an organization’s philosophical and operational standards match with your personal needs and interests.

Projects in Kenya, Peru, Sri Lanka and Brazil have been announced as the winners of the first Travel2change idea challenge. Since its launch late April 2011, over 500 members joined the travel2change online community, and submitted around 60 innovative project proposals. The submitted ideas were evaluated based on creativity, effectiveness, impact, feasibility and sustainability. The four winning projects were awarded on July 17, 2011 by a jury of experts and will be realized in the coming months, thanks to the support of the travel partner Kuoni.

By Hollie Tu

Last month I headed out on a tiny plane into the interior of Borneo to spend 10 days with the Penan. The Penan are one of the indigenous peoples of Sarawak and were, until recently, the only people to live a nomadic lifestyle within the rainforest. Today, most Penan have settled in villages where they primarily cultivate the land yet still utilize their hunter-gatherer skills to supplement their diet.

Volunteer Tourism: Seeking Experiences that Make a Difference by Dr. Wearing, Senior Lecturer, University of Technology, and Dr Lyons, University of Newcastle, will be published by CABI in 2012. Concentrating on the experience of the volunteer tourist and the host community, this new edition builds on the view of volunteer tourism as a positive and sustainable form of tourism to examine a broader spectrum of behaviors and experiences and consider critically where the volunteer tourist experience both compliments and collides with host communities.