JOB OPENING: SUMMER MANAGERS - RESERVA LAS TANGARAS, ECUADOR
Life Net Reserve Manager(s) Position: Las Tangaras Nature Reserve, Mindo, Ecuador
Life Net seeks a capable couple with backgrounds in wildlife management, property management, ecotourism, conservation biology, or related fields to steward and live at Reserva Las Tangaras, a private cloud-forest protected area in western Ecuador. An 88-day commitment is typical due to the readily available visa of 90 days. Longer service is an option, but stewards must to obtain appropriate visas on their own. The next opening is scheduled for June 15 - September 12, 2015.
Applicants with skills in leadership, nature interpretation, and field biology are preferred along with those handy with carpentry, home repairs, and applied natural area stewardship skills. Managers maintain trails, signs, make repairs and maintain the reserve cabin and its water system. They sustain small organic gardens and a native tree orchard, and further work by previous managers in conservation research, ecotourism promotion and services, and outreach to the local community.
Las Tangaras is a 49-hectare natural area and its main purpose is to provide habitat for native plants and animals, while protecting them from illegal hunting and collecting. As a buffer property on the edge of the Mindo-Namibillo Bosque Protector, Reserva Las Tangaras provides additional habitat for wildlife at elevations typically deforested for agriculture, and more recently, from development for poorly regulated tourism.
At Las Tangaras we encourage light levels of visitation by bird-watchers, nature enthusiasts, photographers, and conservation biology researchers/students. Contributions from visitors partially sustain the reserve. Managers should be capable with:
1. Hosting nature-oriented guests and visitors
2. Maintaining all trails on the reserve and entrance bridge
3. Improving trail(s) and signage from Nambillo Road to Las Tangaras (with local
landowner's permission).
4. Sustaining gardens and orchards, including and doing tree planting to attract birds and for human use.
5. Writing montly and final reports, doing basic financial accounting, recording data
6. Managing and contributing to a blog, completing Excel data sheets, and doing emails regularly
Life Net seeks well-educated, mature, very physically fit, and responsible couples with strong interests and/or educational backgrounds in reserve management, nature conservation, tropical ecology, birding, sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, environmental education (all or some) to steward the very bio-diverse nature reserve.
The reserve is an incredible place to live, and research and photographic opportunities abound. Life Net monitors and researches bird communities, and managers, visiting scientists, and students continue to describe plants, insects, hummingbird community dynamics, avian community structure in different forest types, and avian indicator species in mature tropical montane forest.
Duties also include, reserve improvements and stewardship, care of trails, marking of trails, water system upkeep, septic system upkeep, managing mule transport of gas tanks, maintenance of a large cabin, care and use of tools, equipment, research materials, doing accounting and inventories, and upkeep of a small library. Options exist to earn additional income by providing meals and guide services for visitors. Qualifications include ability to communicate well in Spanish, one person with a university degree in a topic related to the position, related experiences with wilderness biology field work in the tropics, interests in research and nature interpretation, experience with guiding nature or birding tours, simple bio-regional living experiences, wilderness, leave no trace camping ethics, carpentry, plumbing, and building skills, financial management experience, business sense, etc.
Next position begins June 15, 2015.
Send cover letter, resume, and 3 easily contactable references to Dr. Dusti Becker at dbecker@lifenetnature.org
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