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Volunteering with
Save the Bear

Salviamo l’Orso is always looking for passionate and willing volunteers (age ≥18 years) to help in the daily actions of the association for the protection of the Marsican brown bear.

The Marsican brown bear is endemic to the Central Apennines. Its core area is the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park and surrounding territories. During the last 200 years the bear has suffered increasing persecution due to conflicts with agroforestry, habitat fragmentation, and hunting (the Marsican brown bear has been declared a protected species since 1939). Several cases of poisoning have also occurred. At present, the Marsican brown bear population numbers 50-60 individuals, a number too small to ensure the long-term survival of the population. Following the killing of a young bear in September 2014 in Pettorano sul Gizio, Salviamo l’Orso decided it was time to become a more permanent presence in the area. Thus was born the volunteer program, whose primary goal is to carry out a series of actions on a daily basis to encourage coexistence with bears and protect the natural environment in which they live. Volunteers will be housed in comfortable guesthouses in the small villages among the mountains of the central Apennines surrounded by the nature and culture of these places.

What?

During field activities, Let’s Save the Bear encourages volunteers to acquire their skills in a wide variety of fields: from building electrified fences to monitoring phototraps. Working with Save the Bear requires great passion, adaptability, flexibility and autonomy. All people who wish to do so can contribute.

Where.

Salviamo l’Orso operates in all areas of bear presence, with a main focus on the mountains of Abruzzo, Upper Lazio and Upper Molise. We mainly work in the connection areas between different protected areas, which are crucial for the bear population to expand and grow. In particular, the areas that go from the Abruzzo Lazio and Molise National Park to: the Maiella National Park, the Sirente Velino Regional Park, the Simbruini Mountains Regional Nature Park, the Montedimezzo MAB Reserve, and the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park.

When?

March through December, arrive within the first week of each month.
Minimum period of stay: 1 month.

Important information

During their time there, the volunteers will be fully immersed* in the local culture and traditions. Depending on the time of your stay, the opportunity might arise to witness some ancient rituals, such as the Serpari Festival in Cocullo or the Medieval Joust in Sulmona, exceptional spectacles for anyone lucky enough to see them. Finally, nature. We are happy for our volunteers in their spare time to explore and discover the wonders of the Bear Lands: the mountains, valleys and National Parks.