My name is Erin, and I recently returned from my two-week Terrestrial and Marine trip in Honduras. What made this trip so memorable to me was my mindset during and in my reflections following it. Embracing change and challenge allows experiences like…

I love a little dip into nature. Knepp was like a mental spa but the treatments comprised flapjack wars and inflatable mattresses. I felt incredibly connected – to the people I met, the animals, the land, the plants… I never felt impassioned…

The 8th annual Opwall Photo competition has come to end – and with over 160 entries and thousands of votes we have our winners! How the photo competition works Each person could enter two photos, but they had to have been taken…

I spent six of the most incredible weeks of my life in Honduras this summer. It is almost impossible to decide which of the many experiences to include in this blog, ranging from heartwarming to adrenaline-inducing. Instead, I will share with you…

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…