Do-good, feel-good vacations: extend a needed hand while earning karma points and burning calories in beautiful, exotic locations

Whether your passion is conservation, hiking or discovering new cultures, volunteer vacations offer a means to take any of these to a new level as you sculpt your body and expand your mind. Here are four unique trips, from volunteers themselves, including the "roughing-it factor" ([??]), which illustrates on a scale of 1 to 4 (4 being most rough) the project difficulty and presence (or lack) of amenities. Project prices are per person and do not include airfare.

Project Teaching on a Navajo reservation

According to the Tribal College Journal, nearly half of all Native American students drop out of high school, a statistic that helped compel me to sign up for Amizade Ltd.'s Navajo Nation service project in Tuba City, Ariz., 70 miles north of Flagstaff. I had worked on other cultural-service projects, including creating play programs for orphans in Romania through The Body Shop Foundation, so I felt motivated to volunteer among my own country's native peoples, assisting teachers at a boarding school.

Roughing-it factor [??]

Who goes This project attracts mostly females (a 3-to-1 ratio), from college spring-breakers to retirees.

Elbow grease Assistant-teaching may not have the same calorie burn as some other volunteer vacations, though the mental challenge is significant (no prior classroom experience is necessary). Still, you should be fit enough to stand for nearly seven hours a day while teaching, and you may be roped into a game of tag or dodge ball at recess with the kids (that really got my heart rate up!).

Provisions No-frills meals are served in the high school cafeteria with options ranging from vegetarian-friendly dishes to taco salads and traditional Navajo fry bread. While far from the Ritz, the room you'll share in a high school dorm, with communal bathrooms, is serviceable--and, for us, the close quarters fostered instant friendships.

Downtime When our teaching was done for the day, our choice of activities included educational visits with tribal elders (including a World War II veteran "code-talker," who translated military commands into the Navajo language to baffle the enemy), a four-mile hike through the surrounding labyrinth of mesas on the reservation, and a trip (transportation provided) to the Grand Canyon (70 miles from Tuba City) for a 5.5-mile trek along the West Rim Trail.

FYI At 4,940 feet, Tuba City can get snow in the morning, but temperatures often exceed 90[degrees] F on summer afternoons. Pack layers (from T-shirts to fleece; dress for class is casual). And don't forget a brimmed hat, sunscreen and hiking boots.

Karma points Assistant teaching and interacting with Tuba City residents provided me with a sense of perspective and an intimate understanding of a unique culture rich in tradition.

Details Amizade Ltd., a nonprofit organization, sponsors volunteer-based cultural programs in 11 countries, connecting participants with Native American reservations and under-served communities (from $395, tax-deductible, for seven days, includes food, transportation to and from Tuba City and lodging; 888-973-4443, amizade.org).--Dina Mishev

Project Forest restoration in Florida

Ocala National Forest, one of the last remaining tracts of wilderness in central Florida, receives more visitors than any other forest in the state, which means it faces unique threats from development and overuse. Having grown up in the state and owned a cabin in Ocala, I've seen firsthand the effects of environmental degradation on the area. So I jumped at the opportunity to join a Sierra Club service trip to conserve and preserve the habitat.

Roughing-it factor [??][??]

Who goes Two-thirds of our group of 14 was female. Participants ranged in age from 34-64, though younger volunteers have attended these trips on spring break.

Elbow grease We camped during our workweek--most of us in tents, some in our vehicles--beneath a canopy of oaks, pines and palms in the Alexander Springs Campground, which has both restrooms and hot showers. Days typically started early (6:15 a.m. if you had breakfast cooking duty) and ended after about four to seven hours of work (at our own pace) on projects varying from moderately difficult to strenuous. We cleared underbrush from the habitat of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, built a footbridge, repaired a boardwalk, cleaned up the beach at the park's Alexander Springs, and removed debris from sinkholes.

Provisions The Sierra Club provided our food and cooking equipment, and we brought our own plates, cups and utensils. A few culinarily adept members of the group volunteered to whip up our hearty (mostly vegetarian) meals, including omelets, pancakes, sandwiches, burritos, pastas and curried rice dishes, which we ate at picnic tables or around the campfire.

Downtime On our free day, some of us headed for the nearby springs for a swim, while others explored the 383,220-acre wonderland of cypress, palm and longleaf pine trees that forms a stretch of the 1,300-mile Florida National Scenic Trail. Our last two nights were spent around the campfire--singing, laughing and playing trivia games, just like summer campers.