Call for Volunteer Co-Instructor for Cocha Cashu Field Course

Volunteer Co-instructor needed for a Field Course in Tropical Ecology in Peru!

Are you passionate and knowledgeable about tropical ecology? Interested in a 3-month all expenses paid journey to the heart of the Peruvian Amazon? Would you love working
with a small cadre of talented and motivated young Peruvian biologists? If so, then we are
looking for you!

Volunteer to be a co-instructor for San Diego Zoo Global Peru’s 4th Annual Course in Field
Techniques and Tropical Ecology. A $5000 US stipend will be awarded to cover expenses.

Application Deadline: June 30th, 2016

Where: Cocha Cashu Biological Station, Manu National Park, Madre de Dios, Peru.

When: Sept 1st – November 30th, 2016

To apply: Email your application to cochacashu@sandiegozoo.org and roxana.arauco@gmail.com. Applications should include:
1. A full CV
2. A one-page Statement of Interest detailing why you would like this opportunity, what talents and skills you bring, and how this will facilitate your career.

The CCBS 4th Annual Course of Field Techniques in Tropical Ecology 2016

For the past 3 years we have held this course at the Cocha Cashu Biological Station, recruiting and training some of Peru’s most promising students, changing their lives, and sending them off on a different career and life trajectory better prepared to address emerging conservation problems. SDZG, with the support of grants and donors, supports this course as an investment in the future of a healthy Amazon. All expenses are covered for student participants, ensuring that wealth is not a limiting factor for gaining access to this experience. Join us in working toward this shared goal of training the next generation of tropical ecology and conservation professionals in Peru.

Requirements for the Applicant:
•Master’s or PhD degree (enrolled in PhD, ABD acceptable)
• Significant experience conducting ecological research in tropical forests. Mastery of  fundamentals of scientific hypothesis-testing, methodology and statistical approaches.
• Teaching experience highly preferred.
• Experience working in Latin America and Spanish fluency preferred.
• Excellent communication and inter-personal skills and experience living under rigorous field conditions.

As the co-instructor of the course, you will travel to one of the most remote places on Earth, several days’ journey from civilization (and medical care). You will live in the Amazonian rainforest, sleep in a tent, and enjoy the company of some of the top ecologists. You will develop and present in-field lectures on agreed-upon topics related to tropical ecology and scientific methodology. You will mentor and assist students, who will be asked to formulate scientific hypotheses, design experiments, collect data and analyze them, and interpret the results in a written report. You will never forget this experience and you will never be the same person again!

Please click Co-instructor announcement 2016 for more details.

Photo: Julie Day, Co-Instructor in 2015 (on the left), with the group of Peruvian students on the beach at Cocha Cashu.

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