Why doesn’t this feel like fun?
It’s early. Not sunrise-in-a-beautiful-way early. Just early.
It’s dark. You’re tired, slightly uncomfortable and quietly questioning your decision-making skills. The alarm went off before your body was ready. The air is colder (or hotter) than expected. There’s a long day ahead.
This isn’t the version of travel we’re usually sold. There are no loungers, no slow breakfasts, no sense of ease. Instead, there’s a bit of effort. Logistics. And, somewhere in the back of your mind, a small question:
Why on earth did I voluntarily sign up to this?
Choosing something harder (on purpose)
Trips built on adventure require more planning, more commitment and more uncertainty than a typical holiday. They can be physically demanding. They don’t always feel comfortable.
More people are moving towards this kind of travel. Not because it’s easier, but because it offers something else. Something more engaging. More real.
What is Type 2 Fun (and conservation volunteering)?
There’s a term for this kind of experience: Type 2 Fun.
It’s not especially enjoyable in the moment. It can be uncomfortable, demanding, even frustrating. I know I’ve kicked my tent in frustration and thrown my big tramping pack on the ground on the verge of tears.
You may not have been at your best, but afterwards (sometimes much later) it becomes a deeply satisfying part of your life. Plus, these types of adventures make for good stories!
Where citizen science and conservation volunteering comes in
This is where citizen science expeditions sit, such as the ones Biosphere Expeditions offers. They are not designed around comfort or convenience. They are built around real research and real conservation challenges, the kind that require time, effort and people on the ground.
If you join these expeditions as a volunteer you don’t just observe. You take part. And sometimes, you may be pushed a little out of your comfort zone and that’s part of the point.
Read also: Top Five Tips for the Planet
What you actually do as a volunteer (and why it matters)
Depending on the expedition, conservation volunteers might:
- Survey coral reefs in places like the Maldives, recording fish species and reef health to support long-term monitoring
- Track wildlife such as bears using field signs, GPS data and camera traps
- Monitor turtle nesting activity and help reduce threats such as poaching
- Collect African biodiversity data that feeds directly into scientific research and conservation planning
Also Read: How to protect marine life – small actions that make a big difference
This work contributes to long-term datasets used by scientists, informs conservation decisions, and helps protect ecosystems under pressure.
You’re not just seeing these places…you’re helping understand and protect them.
Curious? Explore current expeditions you could join.
Why it stays with people
These are the trips people remember. Not because they were the easiest, but because they were the most engaging and real. There’s a difference between enjoyment and meaning, between lying on a beach and doings some conservation volunteering.
Angelika Krimmel, who has taken part in multiple expeditions, recalls the awe and slight fear of discovering a huge bear paw print in the snow.
“‘It had slipped trying to climb a slope and the claw marks were massive.”
Another volunteer, Sven Strohschein, describes his favourite memories as
“‘Being woken up by elephants browsing trees just a metre away from where I was sleeping, witnessing a lion hunt in the middle of the night and talking to local people face-to-face’..”
Type 2 Fun sits firmly in that space, where the value of the experience grows over time. It’s the difference between consuming an experience and being part of it.
Why people who volunteer come back
What’s most telling is that people don’t just sign up to one of these conservation volunteering expeditions once, they return. Even knowing the early starts, the routines and physical demands, they come back.
Biosphere Expeditions has many volunteers who’ve joined multiple expeditions.
Because once you’ve experienced this kind of travel, your expectations shift. Comfort becomes less important and contribution matters more.
Some even make major life changes. Tess Kneebone, moved from a career in production and television into training in marine conservation:
“‘I want to centre my life around being in nature and preserving it for the next generation’.”
A different kind of holiday
Not all travel needs to be easy to be worthwhile. In fact, some of the most rewarding experiences are often require a bit more effort.
Conservation citizen science or volunteer expeditions are a perfect one example of this. They offer a different kind of travel, one grounded in contribution, learning, and shared effort.
Type 2 Fun doesn’t replace traditional holidays. But it offers an alternative. One where the value isn’t measured by how relaxed you felt, but by what you learned, contributed, and experienced along the way. If that kind of travel resonates, you can learn more about upcoming expeditions here.
Also Read:
- Volunteering abroad for wildlife conservation: what to expect
- How conservation volunteering can help burnout recovery
Author: Sophie Carty
Sophie leads and coordinates projects that engage people with biodiversity and conservation in New Zealand. With a background in health and a love of nature, she works to inspire action for positive change in the environment and wellbeing. Sophie volunteers with Biosphere Expeditions and her local backyard predator trapping group, helping control invasive species such as rats and stoats.
Excellent words and very true. It’s a hard one to explain to younger citizen scientists however, it is the key to having a resilient, well-travelled and good life skills which can be easily translated to business skills and commercial applications. At the same time one does invaluable (crucial) work for key species conservation (and not preservation, which is jam making apparently, according to one joker who asked me how do you fit a cheetah in a jam jar!)
Thank you for your thoughts and not a very funny joke 😉