My Volunteer Experience at the Toucan Rescue Ranch!
Hello! My name is Kim, I am from Switzerland, and I had the incredible opportunity to volunteer for two
months at the Toucan Rescue Ranch. During my time there, I worked in two different departments: the Animal Care Team and the Marketing Team.
My experience at the Toucan Rescue Ranch was both inspiring and unforgettable. I learned countless valuable lessons, formed amazing friendships with people from around the world, and developed important skills through hands-on fieldwork as well as educational lectures led by the ranch’s veterinary team. Every day brought new experiences, challenges, and opportunities to learn more about wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.
To give you a glimpse into life at the Toucan Rescue Ranch, I’d love to share some of my daily tasks, what it was like living in the volunteer house, and everything I gained from this unique experience.
A typical day at the Toucan Rescue Ranch
At 7 in the morning, we have our daily meeting where we talk about any special occurrences from the day before and discuss what we want to get done during the day. Afterwards, the team gets split into two groups. While half of the people stay in the kitchen and prepare the meals for all the birds, the other half works outside in the sanctuary, cleaning and refilling all the water trays for the birds that have found a lifelong home there. Once everything is ready, we help each other distribute the freshly cut fruit to the birds. Afterwards, we prepare the meals for the monkeys and the grisons in the kitchen — colorful plates, as they receive a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to ensure that their diet provides them with all the nutrients they need — and then it is soon already time to return to the house to enjoy a typical home-cooked Costa Rican breakfast.
Energized from breakfast, we walk up to the ranch again, where we continue caring for some of the mammals that stay there. Emma, the otter, receives her second meal of the day and, as always, she collects her trout from her tray to dunk it into her pool and enjoy it in the refreshing water.
Afterwards, we clean the enclosure of the grisons, and then it is time to create some enrichment activities: we make fruit trees for the birds, tamales out of banana leaves for some of the mammals, or frozen fruit juice that resembles ice cream to provide refreshment for the animals on a sunny day. The birds get “top-ups” — their second meal of the day, consisting of seeds for the parrots and papaya for the toucans. During this part of the routine, we get to enjoy a loud concert of birds as they excitedly welcome the seeds they are receiving. Before we know it, it is already lunchtime, and during a traditional casado — the typical lunch in Costa Rica consisting of rice, beans, protein, salad, and plantain — we chat and laugh, and the lively atmosphere makes you feel at home instantly.
In the final part of our working day, we start by feeding Emma for the third and last time. Then, the monkeys and grisons also receive another meal. As soon as this is done, we look after the kinkajous, the porcupines, and the paca — mammals that are nocturnal but wake up for their afternoon meal — giving us a chance to watch them move around for a bit before they go back to sleep. As the final task of the day, we split our group again: some people feed the raptors, while everyone else cleans the birds’ enclosures. We collect their food trays to wash them in the kitchen, and then we are already done with work!
In the late afternoons, I either grab coffee with some of my friends, go for a little walk in the green surroundings of the Toucan Rescue Ranch, or spend some time journaling in the house. In the evenings, we often take an Uber into San José, where we go to a restaurant, stroll around Chinatown, or visit the cinema to watch a movie. My days are always full of activity, and the staff, interns, and volunteers at the Toucan Rescue Ranch have made my experience here amazing!
Life in the Volunteer House
Located just two minutes away from Headquarters is our volunteer house, where most of the ranch’s volunteers and interns stay during their time at the Toucan Rescue Ranch. The house is divided into two floors: on the ground floor, there is a volunteer dorm with three bunk beds, as well as a private room with a single bed. In addition, the first floor includes two bathrooms, a cozy living room, and a kitchen where everyone gathers throughout the day. Upstairs, there are two more rooms for the interns — one accommodating six people and the other three — both with their own bathrooms.
From the moment I arrived, I was welcomed warmly into the house, and everyone made a genuine effort to explain the routines and daily life there to me. Whether you want to socialize, cook together, and spend the evenings chatting with others, or enjoy some quiet moments alone reading a book, journaling, or simply relaxing, there is always a place in the house where you can feel comfortable. The warm and friendly atmosphere quickly makes it feel like a second home.
Reflection of my time at the Toucan Rescue Ranch
I volunteered at the Toucan Rescue Ranch for two months, and it was my first experience working with animals. During my stay, I learned a great deal about different wildlife species and how to properly care for them. By working closely with a variety of animals, I began to recognize their individual personalities and learned how to adapt my behavior and approach to each one — while always respecting their boundaries and remembering that they are wild animals.
This experience helped me develop a lot of patience, teamwork skills, and independence. I also found the people in Costa Rica to be incredibly welcoming, supportive, and open to new ideas, which made it easy to adapt and feel part of the team. As a result, I was able to spend my final month working with the marketing team as part of my studies in communications — an opportunity I was very grateful for, as it allowed me to combine practical field experience with my academic background.
Throughout my time there, everyone was consistently encouraging and open-minded, which made the experience especially rewarding.
The Toucan Rescue Ranch was the final project of my time in Costa Rica, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my trip. It was an unforgettable experience that I would recommend to anyone looking to gain a unique insight into wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release.
Kim Schafroth
Former Animal Care & Marketing Volunteer
