Some knowledge cannot be transmitted in a course or a book. It can only be transmitted by living alongside the work for long enough that the land begins to teach you directly.

 

An internship or apprenticeship at Tsunul Reserve is for the person who has made a decision: that this work—healing degraded land, building ecological communities, and growing the native plants that restoration depends on—is what they want to do with their life. The question is no longer whether. The question is how to develop the depth of knowledge and the practical capability that makes the work genuinely effective.

 

We have hosted over 40 international interns and mentored 3 university thesis projects at Tsunul Reserve and many more over our 20 years in Canada. The people who came for a month and stayed for six, who left and built their own restoration practices and nurseries, who went back to their universities with field experience that transformed their research or went on to government or private jobs — these are the people this program is designed for.

 

Two tracks:

 

Internship — 1 to 4 months.

 

The internship is a learning track. You are here to develop skills—ecological, agricultural, and practical—under the mentorship of Paul and Sophia. You work on the reserve, you study, you ask questions, and you make mistakes in a place where mistakes are recoverable and instructive.

 

A typical internship week includes restoration fieldwork (planting, invasive management, monitoring, and nursery work); structured learning sessions with Paul or Sophia on specific topics (soil biology, species ecology, restoration planning, traditional Mayan ecological knowledge, and biochar); independent study and observation; and documentation work (your own field notes, iNaturalist records, and project reports).

 

By the end, you will be able to read a degraded site accurately and develop an appropriate restoration plan, propagate twenty or more native tropical dry forest species from seed and cutting, manage the main invasive species of the region safely and effectively, design and run a biodiversity monitoring protocol, and explain the ecological principles behind every decision you make.

 

Apprenticeship — 5 to 6 months.

 

The apprenticeship is a practitioner track. You are here not only to learn but also to develop the independence and judgment needed to lead restoration work without direct supervision. By month six, you should be able to run a restoration project—plan it, plant it, monitor it, and adapt it—on your own.

 

The apprenticeship covers everything in the internship program plus taking on lead responsibility for specific restoration zones of the reserve, designing and implementing your own research or monitoring project, teaching skills to interns and skill-stay participants who overlap with your time, contributing to propagation and nursery management independently, and developing a full restoration plan for a site of your choosing (which may be your own land or a project you are planning to work on after leaving).

 

Apprentices also have the option to work with Sophia on her specific research areas: soil microbiology, plant micropropagation protocols for wild-species rescue and conservation, and the integration of regenerative agriculture with restoration ecology.

 

What life at Tsunul looks like:

You live on the reserve in one of the three cabins. Meals are shared and prepared using food from the garden and local markets—Sophia leads the cooking, and everyone contributes. The days follow the land: early starts before the heat, quieter afternoons, evenings of documentation and conversation, and the sounds of the forest recovering around you.

 

You will swim in the cenote. You will know the bats that roost there and the fish that share it. You will know which birds call before dawn and what their presence means about the health of the habitat. You will know the chaka by its smell, its bark, and its particular relationship to the dry season. You will know this place.

 

The nearest city is Mérida, twenty minutes by road, accessible on days off. The reserve is off-grid but connected: solar power, reliable internet, and a full research library. Spanish language skills are useful and will develop naturally during your stay. Sophia and Paul work in both English and Spanish.

 

Who should apply:

Students in ecology, agronomy, environmental science, biology, or related fields seeking field placement to complement academic training. Early-career practitioners seeking to develop expertise in tropical dry forests. People changing careers into restoration work who need a practical foundation. Researchers are developing thesis projects with a field component.

 

We particularly welcome applicants from Latin America, who bring regional ecological knowledge and cultural context that enriches the work at the reserve and who often have the most direct need for the skills developed here.

 

Eligibility:

No specific degree is required, but a genuine commitment and some relevant background (study, volunteer work, or personal land stewardship) are expected. English or Spanish is sufficient for communication. Physical fitness for fieldwork in tropical conditions. A clear sense of what you want to develop during your time here.

 

Cost:

Internship: $680 USD/month (includes accommodation and meals)

Apprenticeship: $680 USD/month (includes accommodation and meals)

 

Priority consideration and application fee waiver for Old Growth tier Patreon supporters

 

To apply: planethealers.org/courses (application form, CV, and 300-word statement of intent)

 

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.