A large Tortoise is standing on the white sany beach of Cousin Island

Volunteer Abroad Seychelles: Cousin Island Conservation

Seychelles 12 to 26 days From 850 €

Participating in this special volunteer project allows you to actively contribute to nature and wildlife conservation on the magnificent Seychelles island of Cousin.
As a volunteer in this species conservation programme, established in 2017, you receive essential conservation knowledge due to your involvement in various projects and tasks, and acquire valuable skills in implementing research methods and conservation measures. Together with your team of international volunteers and instructed by long-term experienced conservationists you dedicate yourself to endangered sea turtle and seabird monitoring, take part in wildlife censuses, support important restoration activities and, in this way, contribute to protecting and preserving the island’s pristine flora and fauna.

Your trip at a glance

Highlights

Live and work on Cousin Island, a true island paradise
Become active in real nature and wildlife conservation
Help protect endangered turtle and sea bird species
Support conserving Cousin Island’s natural flora
Be part of an international team
Experience the biodiversity of the breathtaking Seychelles archipelago

Locations

Cousin Island

A sea turtle is swimming in the Indian Ocean off the Seychelle's coast

A volunteer in our species conservation project in the Seychelles is standing on a rock at sunset

Volunteering in he Seychelles: Looking over the beach and ocean of cousin Island

A sea bird is landing on cousin Island beach, the blue Indian Ocean in the backround

Voluntary work in the Seychelles

As a participant in our project on Cousin Island you actively contribute to nature and wildlife conservation in the Seychelles and, at the same time, experience the fascinating biodiversity of a true island paradise.

A volunteer in our species conservation project in the Seychelles is working on the beach

Arrival and orientation on Cousin Island

The project usually starts on the first Monday of the month. We advise you to book your flight straight to Praslin. Please make sure to arrive the weekend (Sunday) before the project starts and book a room near Grand Anse, Praslin. The project’s programme coordinator picks you up on Monday morning at a certain meeting point and takes you to the harbour of the island. There you will go on a boat that takes you straight to Cousin. After your arrival on Cousin, you can meet the team, familiarize yourself with your accommodation and the area and get an introduction to the project’s work and goals.

Volunteer activities during the conservation project

Your volunteer tasks focus on protecting endangered sea turtles and sea birds, particularly by intense monitoring activities. In general, your tasks are dependent on the season.
Turtle nest monitoring takes place from September to March. It is the intense part of the year as patrols need to be done six times a day all around the island. This means noting down all turtle tracks, observing them on land until they lay eggs and leave the island, measuring the animals’ carapace and counting eggs when possible, identifying each stage of nesting, tagging if the turtle is untagged and marking the nest site. At the end of a patrol unit the data needs to be entered in the computer database.

Sea bird monitoring takes place from February to October. Sea birds can provide us with valuable information regarding the health and status of marine ecosystems. Data, gathered through population and/or chick censuses, can help to identify certain changes which necessitate the development of certain conservation measures.
Removing invasive plants, performing wildlife censuses for other animal species, cleaning the beach, helping with beach-profiling and supporting maintenance work on the island are further volunteer tasks among your involvement in seabird and turtle monitoring. Moreover, you gain an insight into ecotourism by interacting with tourist groups while they are waiting for their guide to start the tour. You will also have the opportunity to lead a guided tour seconded by a warden if your instructors feel that you are ready for this adventure.

Our turtle conservation project's volunteer accommodation in the Seychelles

Accommodation during the volunteer project

You are accommodated in a field house together with other volunteers. The house has three rooms (with single beds and bunk beds), a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room and a patio. The toilet stands next to the house; it is an ecofriendly long-drop/pit toilet instead of a western style toilet. Each volunteer is responsible for their cooking and laundry (handwash). In order to be able to contact friends and family at home, you should bring your cellphone and purchase a sim card on Praslin or Mahé. This way you can make national and international calls and, if you top it up, use the internet as well.

Leisure time as a conservation volunteer

Weekends and evenings are usually off. Leisure time activities take place mainly out in the open. The island offers the opportunity to relax at the beach or to go on nature trips. Cousin’s fascinating underwater world is ideal for snorkeling – so don’t forget to bring along your snorkel equipment and take part in organized group snorkeling sessions. Another favorite volunteer activity is star-gazing after dinner as the night sky above the island is simply magnificent.

Arrival

Arriving in the Seychelles

The project usually starts on the first Monday of the month. You should book your flight straight to Praslin and arrive the weekend (Sunday) before the project starts. This means you need to take care for a room for the following night. Please book a room near Grand Anse, Praslin. On Monday morning, the project’s programme coordinator picks you up at a certain meeting point and takes you to the island’s harbour. Here you will go on a boat that takes you straight to Cousin. After your arrival on the small island, you can meet your team, get accommodated in the volunteer house and receive an introduction into the project’s work and goals.
Project

Your stay in the species conservation project: A typical volunteer day

Your work day usually begins at 07:00 AM and ends at 04:00 PM. Sometimes animal surveys might take place in the evening or at night. In general, you deal with observing and controlling population levels of endangered turtles and sea birds. Your specific tasks are dependent on the season, though. Turtle nest monitoring usually takes place from September to March, whereas sea bird monitoring takes place from February to October. Evenings and weekends can be used for own activities. Once per week you can accompany our partner’s staff to Praslin to get your weekly groceries.
Departure

Last day in the Cousin Island project and departure

FAQ – Learn more about this trip

Prior to departure to the Seychelles

You should be at least 18 years old to participate in our project and have good English skills. A good physical state for the project is extremely important due to long beach patrols by foot which you have to do every day in the tropical climate of the Seychelles. Specific knowledge or requirements are not necessary – instead, it is important to show some serious interest in a dedicated species conservation project and to be flexible, open and adaptive. This also means that you should be able to work and live in very basic conditions (long-drop toilet, cold water etc.). Furthermore, you should not be afraid of small animals living in tropical regions. Before departing to the Seychelles, you should make sure to get information about visa requirements at the Foreign Office of your country or feel free to directly contact Natucate.
Before starting your voluntary work in the Seychelles, we will save you a place on the project and help you with planning your journey, getting travel insurance and booking flights. Transfer from the Praslin Airport to the island of Cousin and back home will be organised by our partner. During your stay you will be accommodated in a volunteer house, provided with drinkable tap water and supervised by experienced nature conservationists to get a deep insight into research methods concerning nature and species conservation. Flights, travel insurance, potential visa and meals/drinks are not included in the price.
In general, it is not necessary to get special vaccinations before departing to the Seychelles. You may want to get vaccinated against measles-mumps-rubella, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis if planning a journey. Also, if you are staying for a longer period, we recommend having vaccinations against hepatitis A and hepatitis B, typhus and rabies. Although there are skilled first-aiders on site, you should take your own first-aid kit and carry special medicine you need from your home country. Before departing, you should see your doctor and get advice on potential dangers, vaccinations and protective measures. In addition to that, you should get information about possible travel alerts and safety information at your country’s Foreign Office before. It is obligatory to get foreign health insurance to be able to participate in the project.
For the project you should take sturdy shoes, aqua shoes, light trekking pants (long/short), headgear, sunscreen and bug spray. Packing a water bottle, headlamp (including batteries), rainproof clothing, flip-flops, sunglasses and long-sleeved shirts is important as well. Do not forget to bring along hygiene products, a small first-aid kit, towels and regular sandals. You should not forget to pack a camera, your cell phone, laptop, swimwear, books, pens and paper, binoculars and snorkelling equipment.

Arrival in the Seychelles

The weekend before your project starts you will arrive at Praslin Airport. You should book a room near the airport (near Grand Anse) until you will be picked up by an employee on Monday. On Monday morning, the programme coordinator will welcome you and your team at a certain meeting point and take you to the harbour where you will take a boat heading straight to the island of Cousin. We help you organise your arrival to Praslin Airport; you need to take care of the final booking, though.

During the project in the Seychelles

After arriving on the island you can familiarize yourself with your accommodation, acquaint yourself with the area and meet your fellows and instructors. After a short introduction to the project’s work and goals and specific security, the actual project work will begin. Under the supervision of experienced species conservationists you will dedicate yourself to the following topics:
- Turtle nesting monitoring (mid-September to mid-March)
- Turtle hatching success monitoring (December to April/May)
- Seabird breeding success (January to June and June to September)
- Endemic birds conservation work (all-season)
- Bird ringing (all-season)
- Seabird censuses (August and February)
- Land bird censuses (April)
- Reptile censuses (September)
- Beach patrols (monthly)
- Conservation maintenance like removing invasive plants etc. (monthly)
- Participating in Ecotourism: supervising and guiding guests (individual)
In most cases, your day starts at 7 AM and ends in the afternoon around 4 PM. Sometimes you will need to take part in specific animal counts in the evening hours or at night.

Life on site in the Seychelles

Together with other participants you will live in a field house on the island of Cousin. It provides three bedrooms with single beds as well as bunk beds. Furthermore, the house has a bathroom, a kitchen and a patio. Instead of a western style toilet, there is an ecofriendly longdrop/pit toilet which you can find next to the field centre. Each volunteer is in charge for his/her daily meals and laundry. Mosquito nets, ventilators, bed linen and mosquito repellent coils can be found on site. Due to scarce water and energy resources, you will be asked to limit your water and electricity consumption and live consciously.
Since you are in charge for purchasing groceries and preparing your meals, a vegetarian/vegan diet is possible. Be aware, though, that the Seychelles are a “fish nation”. Fish is available almost everywhere and is really tasty. Fresh vegetables and fruits are available on markets and in grocery stores; depending on the season the range of fruits and vegetables may vary.
In general, evenings and weekends are free of any work. You can spend this time relaxing in the house or at the beach or you can take part in organised snorkelling trips – the waters surrounding the island are suitable for great under water sightings. Due to Cousin’s unique night sky many volunteers spend their evening hours star-gazing. Outside the turtle season it is possible to have a free weekend to explore other islands of the Seychelles.
Local currency in the Seychelles is the Seychelles rupee. On site you should consider exchanging euros or US-dollars preferably. Nevertheless, we recommend taking only small amounts of cash and searching for an ATM to withdraw more. You can find these at the airports or in Grand Anse on Praslin. In bigger island cities you can find ATMs as well. But don’t forget that there might be a transaction fee of 4 euros (about $5) for every withdrawal. Contact your local bank before your departure and get advice on that topic. Expenses you will have during your project are costs for catering, the hotel stay before the project starts und potential free time activities. The low-priced accommodations in the Seychelles take about 30 euros per night. Moreover, you can expect to spend about 200 euros for groceries per month. For the time before and after the project or as emergency stash we recommend taking some extra money as well.
We recommend buying a SIM-card on Praslin so you are able to use your phone for national and international calls. Depending on provider conditions you may be able to use the internet to keep in touch with family and friends. The employees of the project have their own phones; there are no other telephone or internet options on Cousin.
The Seychelles’ climate is perfect climate pretty much year-round. It is pleasant with temperatures ranging from 24°C to 32°C. Between November and March the climate is a little cooler due to Northwest winds. Wind blows with a suitable speed of 15 to 22 kilometers per hour. December and February are the rainiest month. These months are a little bit cloudy and less sunny.
On Cousin there are certified first aiders and first aid kits distributed all-round on the island. It takes about 10 minutes to go to Praslin by boat, where they have a hospital and doctors. For emergencies there is a helicopter landing strip on Cousin. To avoid emergencies a list of precautions and dos and don’ts are explained to all participants. Don’t forget to get foreign health insurance before leaving for the project.

Learn what others say about their Natucate adventure.

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Review Volunteering Seychelles Cousin Island – Kai

“I had only one, real expectation: to experience a great, instructive and unforgettable time – and that was definitely fulfilled!”

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Review Volunteering Seychelles North Island – Peggy

“To me, the overall island feeling was beyond words and with it the “isolation from the outside”, animals and nature were unique.”

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Review Volunteering Seychelles North Island – Nancy

“My expectations have definitely been exceeded. I will never forget my time on North Island.”

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Review Volunteering Seychelles North Island – Lucia

“I mostly loved the views, anywhere I looked, it was beautiful.”

1. Cousin Island

Cousin Island is a 27 hectare island in the Seychelles Archipelago, west of Praslin and a major retreat for endemic species of animals and plants. Like many places in the Seychelles, Cousin Island was severely damaged by coconut cultivation, which continued until the 1970s. However, since the island and the surrounding waters were declared a nature reserve a few decades ago, intensive efforts have been made to restore the original ecosystem.

Today, Cousin Island is home to a variety of species and habitats. The forests and wetlands are home to numerous species of insects, birds, reptiles and amphibians, which you will certainly encounter yourself during your time in the project.

Learn more

Cousin Island is a 27 hectare island in the Seychelles Archipelago, west of Praslin and a major retreat for endemic species of animals and plants. Like many places in the Seychelles, Cousin Island was severely damaged by coconut cultivation, which continued until the 1970s. However, since the island and the surrounding waters were declared a nature reserve a few decades ago, intensive efforts have been made to restore the original ecosystem.

Today, Cousin Island is home to a variety of species and habitats. The forests and wetlands are home to numerous species of insects, birds, reptiles and amphibians, which you will certainly encounter yourself during your time in the project.

Learn more

Purpose of the Cousin Island volunteer project

The Seychelles archipelago is home to a variety of endemic and unusual animal and plant species. Coconut plantations up to the 1970s had a serious impact on the natural environment and put native species under pressure.
In 1968 Cousin was bought by the International Council for Bird Preservation in order to protect the last tiny population of the Seychelles Warbler, a near extinct endemic bird species. In the mid-70s the island and its surrounding waters were declared a special reserve. Since that time, intense efforts have been implemented to restore the island’s original flora. In order to finance these renaturation measures, the responsible nature conservation organisations are combining nature conservation with ecotourism.
As part of different nature and species conservation projects volunteers now work hand-in-hand with locals to protect the natural environment of the Seychelles.