Volunteering in Puerto Rico

During the first two weeks of last June, my brother and I travelled to Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean near the Dominican Republic. We volunteered with a non-profit organization called CRES (The Coalition for the Restoration of Santurcean Ecosystems). Their mission is to preserve and restore biodiversity in San Juan, the ever-developing capital city of Puerto Rico.

CRES aims to promote sustainable practices that ensure the health and integrity of the local ecosystems which are vital for sustaining many native plant and animal species. For two weeks we worked every week day with the local team. It's a relatively small organization and we mostly worked with three amazing and interesting people—Ferni, Yvette, and Juan—all natives born on the island.

Our main task was at their plant centre where we planted native species and cultivated them until they were ready to be transferred to their "urban jungle." This green space had been created in an abandoned construction site where building had stopped after only the foundations were laid. The area was now an urban forest with trees and plants growing among half-built concrete pillars. It was located right on the coast, practically in the city centre, and was bustling with wildlife like lizards, chickens, and birds.

We worked for about 3-4 hours each morning and then had the afternoons free to explore. We stayed in a hostel with our own room and a communal kitchen where we cooked our own meals each day. The beach was just a five-minute walk away so we spent every afternoon swimming in the crystal-clear waters in 30-degree weather.

Throughout the trip we enjoyed numerous activities like paddleboarding in the marina with manatees and turtles swimming beside us while 30-story buildings loomed in the background. We also rented electric scooters to explore the lively La Placita square.  One of the highlights was attending a Puerto Rican national football team World Cup qualifier against Anguilla which the former won 8-0.

For me, the best experience was a private tour of El Yunque whcih is the only rainforest in North America. Ferni and Yvette, who also offer private tours, took us and another volunteer from Virginia deep into the jungle. We hiked to three different waterfalls, making it one of the most picturesque days I've ever had. The scenery was breathtaking, and the company couldn’t have been better. Afterwards, they took us to a local food shack, packed with locals, where we enjoyed some of the best food I’ve ever tasted—authentic Puerto Rican dishes with ingredients I couldn’t even name!

We booked our trip through IVHQ (International Volunteer Headquarters), which offers hundreds of volunteer opportunities worldwide from preserving marine species to building homes and teaching in underprivileged schools. They were incredibly helpful in organizing our trip and remained available if we needed assistance during our stay in Puerto Rico.  All in all it was an incredible experience and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone looking for a unique and meaningful adventure. 
Callum McLoughlin