Conservation Volunteering in Borneo

The entire project and everyone involved with it provided a first-rate service throughout the trip and it proved to be a truly remarkable experience for me and my family. We felt fully prepared about what to expect and were able to ask questions throughout – always getting a full and swift response. Nick at the flight centre was excellent, especially when the Malaysian Airline website kept crashing and organised seating, special assistance and private transfers for us in KL which really helped. Georgie has been a great support throughout, and I felt I could trust her to ensure our trip would run smoothly. Mark in Malaysia is a formidable guy, an excellent educator, passionate conservationist and 100% dedicated to the work they are doing on the ground. He is infectious and brings out the best from every volunteer on the project. I must particularly praise the patience and kindness with which he supported our son with learning disabilities – Mark made him feel valued and as such he was able to make his own contributions to the project. There were so many magical moments but seeing a mother and baby orangutan, in the wild, at close quarters will take some beating! Also for the sheer hilarity that ensued – the boat breaking down late afternoon in a croc infested river led to the most incredible wildlife observation experiences of the trip. Grasp that nettle and do it. It will be like nothing else you’ve ever down as a family before and from it you will get to observe the different relationships between your children, see their own interests develop and emerge, meet incredible people and have a school vacation like no other! It has given us a time together that we might not otherwise have had. I was really keen to help my children understand a little bit about the world around them, especially after the impact of Covid. This experience has absolutely provided that, it has pushed them outside of their comfort zone, got them away from the constant pinging of phones and given them a new perspective on the opportunities that are available to make a positive contribution to the world.

Mark is an amazing project leader, so intelligent and passionate. Our teammates are awesome, too. We’ve all bonded. The tree planting is coming along, and we’ve seen many wonderful animals during the program.

I had a wonderful time on this projected and loved the whole thing. The work: it’s hot and this is hard work it’s also excellently balanced to as much work as you’d want to do in the heat. I enjoyed that we got to do several aspects of reforestation including maintaining previously planted trees, preparing plots for planting, and then the actual planting! I had honestly gone thinking that this would be much more work and less vacation but it still felt very much like a vacation with several hours of “working” most days. The project crew provides great instruction. The lodging: this was lovely and more developed than I expected. Although there were occasionally power outages they were short and the bed and breakfast was lovely. In the community: I very much appreciated that the program tried to ensure that the local community benefited from our tourism. We often are in local homes, did a cooking classes, and helped with a conservation class at the school (which ended with a fierce game of a dodgeball like game!). Malaysia: I hadn’t ever been but felt very safe and was a delightful place to travel. Organization: the organization on the ground was wonderful and responsive to the needs of participants. They are clearly invested in conservation in Malaysia (and specifically in the Kinabatangan) and making sure that conservation includes the local people. I very much appreciated them. Oyster was also great. Well prepared and responsive. Know that it’s hot and there are periods of hard work but it is an amazing trip!!