Ever since I can remember I have always been fascinated with the natural world, whether it was searching for minibeasts in my garden, watching birds come to the feeders or waking up at the crack of dawn to explore the nearby woods….

What Makes an Opwall School Trip So Special? Operation Wallacea is a conservation research organisation that runs award-winning biodiversity research expeditions, helping students and volunteers from around the world to gain valuable experience in research. We have spent nearly 30 years working…

I have been in close contact with nature since I was a kid so when the time came to decide about my career path, I was sure that I wanted to study Biology. Unsurprisingly during my first year of University I discovered…

Bird Point Count Sampling Techniques Sampling setup The bird point count starts early in the morning, just after dawn when the birds are the most active and vocal. We are driven out to our study site and set up our starting point…

Croatia is home to Krka National Park, which boasts 109 km2 of beautiful mediterranean landscape that supports thousands of flora and fauna, including the second highest density of lavender in Europe. This contributes to the large number of pollinators in the area,…

Out of the 195 countries in the world, I was lucky enough to have my school suggest Indonesia as one of the destinations for our annual environmental/science trip. As soon as I heard what our day-to-day schedules would look like, I knew…

Why you don’t need to be Nervous for an Expedition Joining an Opwall expedition is super exciting, but we also know that it can be a scary prospect! There are lots of things to consider, but it is also an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime…

Each Site’s Research Aims Are you interested in joining one of our expeditions to help with conservation research? At Opwall we have published 640 peer-reviewed papers and identified 72 new species to science. We take research very seriously, and below is a…

Click here to read our terrestrial edition.   Are you a budding marine biologist interested in gaining some hands-on experience? Fancy taking part in one of our Reef Ecology Courses but not sure what that actually entails? Well you’ve come to the…

What is a herpetologist? Before we launch into what a career in herpetology looks like, it’s probably best that we go over what a herpetologist actually is. Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles, making a herpetologist the person that studies…

Click here to read our marine edition. One of the most common questions asked by volunteers before their expedition is “what surveys will I be doing?”. Whether you are asking because you want to build your hands on experience of a specific…

Working with communities is one of the most rewarding and challenging jobs that exists. It is well known that every community has its charm and difficulties, and you will have a different dynamic with each one of them. I am currently working…