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I shivered when the breeze blew across. It was our first day of field volunteering at Fitzroy Island, where we would do our first snorkelling surveys. I wasn’t looking forward to the water’s morning temperature. Although it was December – almost the Australian summer in tropical Cairns – I was still glad I packed my 1mm long-sleeved shortie.
It’s not for long. The water would warm up soon enough, just as it would back home.
Not that we weren’t also issued full-body stinger suits, mind you. They seem to come standard in Cairns. I wondered at the sight when I first saw it. It brought to mind the last place I went to a beach in Australia for water-related activities, which was Sydney. The sea was way warmer in Cairns than in Sydney, and yet it’s in Cairns that people swim fully clothed.
People here simply took it for granted that you’d be wearing stinger suits when you go in the water, in the same way as sunscreen was everywhere and it was assumed that you’d be applying them liberally through the day. And that’s because of the presence of jellyfish.
The stinger suits, I mean. Not the sunscreen – that’s for the heightened risk of skin cancer in this part of the world. You wouldn’t induce any drama if you came to swim in Cairns in a burkini – at least, not when there’s jellyfish around.
On the beach, I watched two young Arab tourists playing at capsizing in their kayak. A trio of girls, American from the accent but African and Arab by ethnicity, humourously called for a taxi as they snorkelled. The Arab dudes responded, paddling over in their kayak and pretending to be an uber.
Oceans2Earth volunteering program at the Great Barrier Reef
The volunteer co-ordinator, Cassie, had to cross out parts of the welcome letter waiting for me at the YHA lobby. I got the sense that most volunteers arrive in Cairns just before their volunteering stint and immediately get into it.
But I had come early to spend my birthday on the reef. By then I had gone on a liveaboard trip, taken a day trip to a different part of the Great Barrier Reef, and looked around Cairns a little.
However, the volunteering was something I particularly wanted to do, given that I was in the Great Barrier Reef. I still thought of myself as a marine ecologist despite never practicing my degree. At the time of my visit, the Great Barrier Reef had recently undergone successive mass bleaching events that damaged much of it. Indeed, this year UNESCO had proposed to classify it as a World Heritage Site at risk, and only a massive lobbying effort by the Australian government avoided it.
It wasn’t that I believed I would contribute much with my volunteering stint. Had that been the only intention, it wouldn’t have been worth the airplane emissions. Rather, I wanted to get a sense for how citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, as well as those working to conserve it, felt about it. How apparent was the conservation sentiment, and what kind of conservation attitude did the people have? Is it collaborative? Divisive? Militant? Pragmatic?
Anecdotes from volunteering survey days at Fitzroy Island
Fitzroy Island is one of the nearest Great Barrier Reef islands to Cairns. Located just around the Yarrabah peninsula, it is a popular tourist spot, and it has one resort. You don’t have to stay in the resort to enjoy the island, though. It can be visited as a day trip from Cairns, via the flyer ferries from the Reef Fleet Terminal. Similar ferries are available for Green Island as well, another tourist island within day trip distance.
Due to its relatively stressed condition as a highly touristed island, it’s not surprising that Oceans2Earth chose to regularly survey sites here. After a day of classroom induction, where we were taught how to conduct the ‘Eye on the Reef’ surveys, we set off on our first survey snorkel at Fitzroy Island. The early start was not so bad in the summer, even for a non-lark like me, as the early sunrise made the walk to the Reef Fleet Terminal feel later to me than it really was.
Carrying out snorkelling surveys
I don’t remember everything about how to do the volunteering surveys now. But I remember there were a few different surveys.
I remember that the Rapid Monitoring survey is very similar to Reef Check’s survey, but not the same. At the time, I had just passed the pool screening to qualify for Reef Check’s EcoDiver program, and had looked up the survey training ahead of the island certification stage. (And then, of course, Covid19 messed up that schedule; although miraculously I did get certified in 2020!)
The Eye on the Reef survey is about logging indicator species within 10 minutes, looking for sea cucumber, popular aquarium fish like butterflyfish and anemonefish, grazing herbivores, high economic value fish like cods and groupers, giant clams, and your usual megafauna (turtles and sharks). While similar, Reef Check’s survey looks for slightly different things.
There was also a coral colour chart, with a shade gradient. We had to pick 20 random coral samples and match their colours to the chart. My best guess is that this was more about monitoring zooxanthellae density in the coral. Maybe the colour has a relationship to stress level, as corals expel their zooxanthellae symbiotes when they’re not well.
I felt the survey was easy enough to do, although admittedly my in-water technique could use some work. But then Kay told us she couldn’t work out which reef forms were even coral. Now, marine life identification can get tricky, but I realised then that I could instinctively pick out at least yes/no for the basic coral forms. But I didn’t know why. I mean, how do I know foliose coral isn’t a seaweed? … I just do.
The opposing priorities of a resort in a Marine Park
The survey locations were further along the beach than the main beach of the resort. We changed into survey gear in one of the resort’s changing rooms that were open to the beachfront. I thought it was cool that the resort was so supportive of the work, until staff came over to ask us to justify ourselves even though we wearing volunteer T-shirts.
Considering that the resort hosts the island’s Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, which is also run by Oceans2Earth volunteers, I thought it was really odd. I wonder if some less progressive resort guests had complained; perhaps they felt we reduced the exclusivity of the resort. After all, volunteers tend to be on the young side, who usually aim for budget travel and day trips to Fitzroy.
Resort staff understandably have to respond to what their guests ask for. But people often forget that penniless young people volunteering today are future people with money. (And sometimes, even formerly-young people with money still choose to volunteer even though they can afford a resort stay. Just sayin’.)
On that note, I rarely choose high-end resorts nowadays. Even though that’s the kind of tourism I’ve done more in my life. Pre-Covid, it was my family’s travel style. I mean, I’d still go if I’m invited, or if you literally pay me to do it (i.e. business travel). But not if it were up to me.
If you asked me why, I think one of the reasons is that I simply like people who choose other travel styles more. They leave you with the sense that the world is friendly, though bigger than you know. They would be the kind of people who would be excited to meet conservation volunteers. I’d rather position myself to make those acquaintances instead.
Fitzroy Island’s Turtle Rehabilitation Centre
The Turtle Rehabilitation Centre was not open at the time. I suppose under normal conditions, we would be changing there instead of at the resort.
Usually you have turtle hatcheries in marine parks, at least in my region. The intention is to improve the odds that the eggs all hatch, so that there would be more hatchlings that get in the water. But this was not a hatchery. It was effectively a veterinary centre, for turtles.
On the flyer ferry, we met some of the volunteers with the turtle rescue programme. Some were actually vets-in-training, and all of them seemed like they belonged in House Hufflepuff (which is the best Hogwarts House, sorry not sorry). I guess wildlife rescue attracts a particular personality type.
You could encounter turtles while snorkelling off of the beach there. Indeed, on my last snorkel there, when the day was overcast and the water murky, I saw several large turtles in the more degraded parts of the reef. Unsurprisingly, they also nest on the beach. Cassie pointed out bite marks on the trees that marked the end of the upper shore. The turtles came right up to the underbrush to dig their nests. I thought that was odd. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient to dig sand nests with the roots in the way?
Downtime at Fitzroy Island
Conservation volunteering programmes usually give you a bit of time in the schedule to enjoy the place. The Oceans2Earth programme is no exception. We’d do a couple of snorkel surveys and then have a few free hours on the island until the return ferry. In that time, you could explore the island or arrange for water activities from the resort dive centre.
Over three survey days, I managed to see quite a bit of the island.
Nobody’s nude at Nudey Beach
Fitzroy Island has another good beach aside from the ones flanking the jetty. It takes a short hike through a jungle path to get to it. The hike wasn’t too difficult overall, but there were some steep sections. It’s worth it, though. The sand is finer and it’s just more pleasant overall. However, it’s just a beach. There aren’t any amenities here.
I fell behind relative to my co-volunteers for reasons of photography, and reading the path’s information placards. Turns out that the surrounding sea had been land 8,000 years ago, which was when the sea rose and Fitzroy Island became an island. The local Gurubana-Gunggandji Aboriginal people have stories from before that time.
Along the way, the path rises high enough that you could spy upon the beach from a height through the openings of the jungle. The beach is called Nudey beach, but it is not a nudist beach. I don’t know why it’s called that; maybe it’s because you can see nudibranchs here.
Fitzroy Island lighthouse hike
The reason why I did this hike was because I couldn’t dive. I was still recovering from the lingering effects of an illness; my out-of-balance thyroid levels made it unsafe for me to scuba dive. So, as my co-volunteers checked out the diving options, I went inland and upward.
There are two options for the lighthouse hike. The shorter route is to go right up to the lighthouse, and skip the summit lookout. This route is not as steep, so you could go faster. Or you could hike a ring route, picking up the summit first and continue on to the lighthouse, returning with the lowland lighthouse route. I was worried I’d miss the ferry, so I took the first option.
Along the way there were many bush turkey encounters. Where the hike passed through thick jungle, you’d be able to hear birds calling. As you get higher, however, the trees thin out to low shrub and a sparse rocky landscape.
The lighthouse itself isn’t particularly photogenic. But back in the day, its light shone out for 22 nautical miles, guiding wartime shipping into Cairns.
Joining a beach cleanup in Yarrabah
We switched from our snorkel surveys to a beach cleanup on our second day. Parley Australia had organised a cleanup in Yarrabah Shire which we would join.
We drove out of Cairns towards Yarrabah. I found the approach interesting, as the Aboriginal flag was painted on boulders with the word ‘TREATY’ on at least one point along the route. From the signs informing access restrictions, and that alcohol restrictions applied, I inferred that the local Aboriginal community self-govern here. But we had permission, and we continued on.
At the beach, we joined up with Parley’s volunteers. They were diverse, and generally local to Queensland, although none were local to Yarrabah. I met an old Caucasian lady who had been to Malaysia five times. She was an archaeologist, and she told me that her father was a Second World War veteran who was wounded in Parit Sulong. At that time, the Australians were sent in to succour us in Malaya. It’s really a shame that neither side remembers these days.
Crusading vs Parley
The beach cleanup began with a briefing about marine plastic pollution and Parley’s work related to that. I was familiar with the topic already; but I figured that if I wasn’t, it was good scene setting. Parley didn’t mince words, or soften the blow. They weren’t partial either; they had the data to show that this wasn’t just an Asia problem. Australia has a local plastic problem too.
The interesting thing about Parley, in my opinion, is their range. Their activism extended to practical dealmaking, including with governments and companies. Organisations with similar positions to them on issues (similar to Greenpeace), typically do not.
I suppose that’s the point of the name Parley. It brings up Pirates of the Caribbean images, for sure. But it also literally means to discuss terms – especially with the enemy. From their Adidas X Parley initiative, to the working relationship with the government of the Maldives, it demonstrates that you don’t need the other party to agree on everything you believe in to collaborate. You just need to be people of range. And – as an Asian – that concept makes a lot of sense.
Sure, the various Parley initiatives probably aren’t going to solve the problem completely. And like the majority of initiatives, they all have a limit beyond which it can do no more. But you see, initiatives are as much about people as about things. They increase trust and relationships between people, which will remain even if the initiatives didn’t fully succeed. And trust is what will unlock the better solutions that will really solve the problem.
I mean you do need some Greenpeace now and then. But after a point, without the Parleys, you just lose more and more relationships, damage more and more trust, and come up with none of the solutions.
Post-volunteering anecdotes
I moved to an Airbnb after my volunteering stint. It was a renovated Queenslander house. The guest quarters were in the new ground floor, while the caretaker lived above in the original living space.
It was nice to have a place to myself, after weeks of rooming with others on a liveaboard and a YHA. I came really close to my limit as an introvert.
Asian volunteers in the Great Barrier Reef
I can’t remember why I met up with Cassie afterwards, but we had a conversation about Asian volunteers in the Great Barrier Reef. My Japanese co-volunteer Amy was spending additional time with Oceans2Earth, and proved herself to be adept and a quick study.
There weren’t too many Asians volunteering in the Great Barrier Reef, Cassie confided. She thought it might be because Asians are less likely to afford it. I confirmed that.
But sometimes they get Chinese volunteers, typically students who needed to show extra-curricular activity. And she asked me if it was normal for Asians of that age to have to be told to do everything. Which was the opposite of independent Amy. And me, for that matter.
I thought back to my own childhood. Now I could only guess, of course. But if an Asian student can afford to volunteer with Oceans2Earth just to round up their university submission, they’re from well-off families. My personal experience may be a little outdated, but it’s probably reasonable to guess that they are likely to have been very sheltered. Helicopter parenting is common in Asia, especially if the family is affluent. And yes, that would be the result.
Amy was, of course, an outlier. She would have to be, as a Japanese who decided to do marine biology instead of a degree that wouldn’t involve so much time in the sun. And I reminded Cassie that though I look 20, I was 40. I’ve had plenty of time to make up the lag.
Volunteering travel and when it makes sense
I enjoyed more downtime than I thought I wanted at the Airbnb. So I came across Art the caretaker more often than guests normally would. He did the tidying in the afternoons, when he came back from his job at a bakery. A migrant to Australia, he was also a friend to the house owners, who were away living somewhere else.
Art was a Filipino, and was immediately interested to make the acquaintance of a Malaysian, entering easily into ‘we’ when speaking about himself, including another Southeast Asian in the experience as Filipinos would. He told me about the hard hours of bakery work. They wake at 11pm so that the bread would be done fresh every morning. It was hard to get time off. Few people wanted to be a baker, so they were always shorthanded.
But life was still harder in the Philippines, he reflected stoically. His family was with him, and he was working to qualify for citizenship. So it was worth it.
“I would like to travel like you,” he said. And he asked me what I did in Cairns. I found it impossible to explain volunteering travel to him. That I came to do conservation work in the Great Barrier Reef, and I paid to do it (rather than being paid). It just didn’t register to him.
The exchange reminded me that first, you need to have enough yourself. And then, when you have more than enough, you might begin to contribute to a worthy cause. But only when you have much more than enough, can it make sense to pay to ‘work’.
Carbon offsetting information to Cairns, Australia
A return flight between Kuala Lumpur and Cairns via Singapore produces carbon emissions of approximately 4,383 lbs CO2e. It costs about $22 to offset this.
Have you ever considered volunteering travel? Why or why not?
Helicopter parenting is indeed quite common in Asia. But honestly, I feel that it sometimes has more cons than pros.
Yeah, I think so too. Although I know the space where that psychology comes from.
Such a lot of info in this post. I’ve not been to this part of Oz and it entices me. It sounds as if there’s a pretty wide variety of experiences to engage in there. I too am not a resort person, except very occasionally – mainly because resorts seem to separate you from the ordinary life of the place you’re visiting.
Yes, that too! It’s really easy to wander through the different parts of a resort, but just a little too inconvenient to wander out of them. I guess that’s the point, and sometimes you want that. But usually, I like places that integrate you into the pace of the place instead. The trip just feels more alive, if not necessarily as pleasant, and the memories last a lot longer.
I haven’t snorkelled since I was knee-high, although I’ve spent most of my life near the coast. I can understand Kay’s comment about not being able to tell which reef forms were coral – I think I’d be the same to start with. On the other hand, when it comes to terrestrial plants, I just know when something is a fern rather than a flowering plant (in Europe at least – tropical life forms are a little different). But you soon learn when you are looking closely at stuff. And volunteering certainly gives you an excuse to look more closely – as well as to understand.
Great post. I’d encourage everyone to do at least one eco-volunteering trip in their lifetime.
It’s amazing how much implicit knowledge you pick up and never realise, isn’t it?