Have you ever wondered whether an internship can truly create meaningful change? Our Marine Biology and Coral Restoration internships in Costa Rica are powerful examples of how passionate individuals - just like you - are making a lasting impact on our oceans and planet.
By working alongside local environmental NGOs, our interns play a hands-on role in restoring marine ecosystems, protecting biodiversity, and revitalizing essential ocean habitats. Their efforts directly contribute to the preservation of one of Earth’s most vital resources.
Scroll down to discover some of the remarkable achievements our interns have been part of in Costa Rica, and see how you, too, can become a part of these programs!
🌱 Planting Healthy Coral Colonies
These efforts help revive the ecosystems and provide critical habitats for marine biodiversity:
- 3.000 coral colonies have been outplanted to local reefs since 2020.
- Fish species on restored reefs have doubled since 2019.
- The percentage of areas covered by live coral has doubled on restored reefs.
- The goal for 2025 is to outplant over 1.000 new coral colonies.
- 54 nurseries have been built and/or restocked with coral fragments.
- 63 coral fragments have been adopted to date.
- 31 sections of reef have been restored (half of them in 2024 alone!)
🏝️ Coastal Clean-ups
- 21 beaches and 22 underwater sites have been cleaned since 2019.
- Almost 1.5 tonnes of waste has been removed.
- A total of 55 cleanups have been carried out between 2019 and 2024.
- 685 total participants have contributed to the cleanup events.
🎓 Community Education & Outreach
- 36 Educational talks given since 2019 in local schools or community centers, inspiring people of all ages to understand and protect the oceans and reef systems.
- More than 1.000 kids have received education about the wonders and importance of the ocean.
All of this incredible progress has been made possible thanks to the dedication, passion, and hard work of our interns! While making a real impact on marine conservation, they also gain invaluable hands-on experience and develop practical skills that set them apart in their careers. If you’re ready to be part of a growing community of interns committed to protecting our oceans, read on to learn how you can get involved:
📝 How can you join one of our conservation internship programs in Costa Rica?
The first step is to submit an application to the program of your choice. You can review the Marine Conservation themed internships in Costa Rica specifically, explore other Environmental Science Internships With Intern Abroad HQ, or just browse the locations and career fields to see what else is available.
It doesn’t cost anything to apply and it doesn’t obligate you to any particular program. It just enables our Program Managers to receive your formal expression of interest, so we can provide more specific information, answer common questions, and outline the next steps.
Once your application has been reviewed and accepted, you will receive an acceptance email, and you can then proceed to confirm your participation and secure your spot by paying the deposit fee. This allows us to obtain more relevant information about you, including your own specific skills, background, experience and preferences, so that we can prepare and coordinate your internship for you.
🤿 If I don’t have any diving qualifications, am I still eligible to join one of these programs?
Certainly! If you don’t have any diving qualifications, there are several options for you:
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Join one of the programs in Costa Rica that does not involve scuba diving, such as Environmental Education, NGO Support for Marine Conservation, and Sustainable Business & Tourism. These still offer you the chance to contribute to meaningful conservation work, but you don’t need to obtain any certifications for them.
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Obtain your qualifications in-country! We offer several qualifications that you can obtain in-country, to ensure you meet the necessary requirements. Options range from an Intro Dive Week for those with no certifications, to an Advanced Diver course for those who already have their Open Water Certification.
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Obtain your qualifications before your internship. If you are confirming your participation well in advance and have selected one of the scuba diving programs, you can also choose to become certified in your own country before departing for Costa Rica.
📆 When can I start?
We’re flexible! Conservation efforts run year-round, so we can accommodate a range of date preferences that interns have. We ordinarily require a minimum of 60 days lead-in time for all our internships abroad, to have time to plan and coordinate them. However, if you are proactive and responsive and complete all the pre-departure steps promptly, we might be able to make some exceptions to this deadline in some cases, so if this is something you’d love to do - don’t hesitate! Just contact us and we can help you make a plan.
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