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in the semester each student, with the help of program faculty,
makes contact with a local conservation or research organization
to set up an internship that takes place during the last month
of the program. Conservation internships provide the opportunity
for students to apply the background they have received in the
ecology, environment, culture and language of Ecuador to work
on current conservation or applied research projects. Internships
are supervised by staff members of Ecuadorian organizations, providing
for a mutually-beneficial cultural exchange, the potential for
acquiring useful job skills, and a chance to become familiar with
careers in conservation and associated organizations.
 The
Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation maintains a list of
organizations from which program participants may select to do
their internship. Interns usually work on an existing project
together with the local staff, but in certain circumstances may
conduct their own project that helps fulfill that organization's
mission. The types of projects are many and varied: interns
may develop an environmental education program, assist in a biological
survey or monitoring program, help with reforestation, work in
a zoo or botanical garden, contribute to a community development
project, volunteer in the operation of an ecotourism or alternative
agriculture project, or participate in designing a reserve management
plan. Through their internship, each student makes a tangible
contribution to an ongoing project and acts as an "ambassador
of goodwill" to conservation efforts in Ecuador.
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