Reports of experience

Letter of a volunteer in Lithuania, Curonian Spit National Park

Enriching and amazing; like this I can describe the experience that I have just lived as a volunteer in the National Park Curonian Spit, in Lithuania. I carried out tasks of translation and interpretation of information of the park. Likewise, I carried out routes on foot in the park to mark them with GPS.
The first that I have found in this small corner of the Baltic has been the hospitality and the sensation of proximity that I have had with all the persons with whom I have worked; but I assure you that it has not been the only one. In the Park I have found surprising contrasts between its luxuriant vegetation and the row of fine sand dunes that flows directly in the sea creating a spectacular landscape. The fauna of the park constitute another of the unforgettable experiences that I have lived: I have found, face to face, with raise and deer, an infinity of birds among which it is necessary to highlight the cormorants, birds and butterflies, with blue beetles, hedgehogs, swans and snakes near the sea, etc.



With everything, I had time of making some excursions on mine account. Often the generational contrast of those persons who lived a recent past as inhabitants of the missing U.R.S.S went to Klaipeda, the city that is more near the park, where I could live and the new generations more open to Europe and importing of many of their trends and their “modus operandis”.
To the evenings, after finishing my work and before having dinner, I enjoyed a wonderful show that gave me the Lithuanian nature. Thus, seated on the beach, my view could reach tons of sand, the immensity of the Baltic and an incredible sunset day behind day. And I, there all alone, I felt anything in the middle of all that greatness, and at the same time necessary in order to continue with my small contribution in order to preserve the nature. It was an experience almost mystical, difficult to transport to the paper.
Toni Galofré, Parc de Collserola volunteer, Spain

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A volunteering experience in Gauja National Park, Latvia

I was volunteering in Gauja National Park, in Latvia, from 30th September to 7th October 2009. A new experience for me, coming from Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park volunteering.
In the first three days, I had the possibility to participate and help during the “III workshop for volunteer coordinators” of Grundtvig Learning Partnership “European Volunteers in Parks”. It was quite interesting to take part to different discussions about volunteering quite as walking in the woods, discovering caves full of legends, visit castles, canoeing or restoring trails… in a few words, breathing a space full of history, tradition and nature.
After workshop’s days, my activities were focused on a specific Area of the Park called “Ligatne Nature Trails”. I had the possibility to watch there some wild and uncommon animals and to walk in enchanted woods: such a big emotion!
In “Ligatne Nature Trails” I helped preparing an exhibition about a project the Park made with other countries and also preparing the meeting these different parts of the project were going to have in the next days. But the most amazing moments were when I helped the rangers, very funny rangers, to destroy an old cage for animals. I enjoyed and laughed a lot with them.

Really few days… but full of emotions! I met very interesting people, I felt comfortable with all of them and I was happy to have a confrontation with a country that is far from me, and with a way of volunteering that seemed to be very different from the way I knew, but then discover that feelings, human emotions towards people you’re working with and towards nature, can be in each part of the world very unique! And realize that each culture can be so familiar!
I hope to see them all again one day and meet in the future more and always more people and places thanks to volunteering.
Claudia Alessandrelli, Abruzzo Lazio and Molise National Park volunteer, Italy

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Abruzzo National Park/Italy: experienced by a volunteer

I was astonished by the involvement of the Park in volunteering service in Abruzzo, I made a few friends and I belive that I will return back soon. I found similar volunteer activities like in Rodna Mountains National Park and that helped me to do it very quickly. From my point of view the Abruzoo National Park changed my life, trained me to do the best.
Mircea Tomiaga, Rodna Mountains National Park volunteer, Romania

 

 

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Volunteering in the Rodna Mountains National Park, Romania

From 19th August to 1st September 2009 I was volunteering in the Rodna Mountains National Park in Romania due to the “Volunteers in parks” project financed by the EU Program GRUNDTVIG.  When I arrived, I met the volunteering coordinator Claudiu Iusan, who told me the details about my accommodation and duties there. In the first 3 days I was free from any duties, because of the vacation of most of the park rangers. During these days I went hiking to get used to mountains, got to know the local villages and also villagers, some of who spoke English quite well. The surroundings were fascinating me – especially the shepherds, who goaded their sheep in the mountains every morning.
In the beginning of the next week I met the rangers and soon after I went with them in the park. We were mostly driving on the small roads through the valleys to inspect whether some illegal harvesting is not going on forests. In the next days we were also hiking in the forests to research the progress of insect attacks which were damaging the forests a lot since the last year. One day was dedicated to tourists – or more precisely – to their trash that we collected from the main hiking routes in the mountains. In the last days of my volunteering I was also helping a little in the park office – I had all kinds of work experience there.
This volunteering gave me more than just new knowledge; it was a great adventure to live in such a different culture for two weeks.
Edmunds Cepurītis, Gauja National Park volunteer, Latvia

  

 

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A short report about our visit of the volunteers on Iceland

From 9 August-16th August 2009 Veit Riffer, a handicapped volunteer from Saxony Switzerland Germany and I, Jens Homey, from Terra Vita, a Nature Park in Lower Saxony Germany, visited the Iceland Volunteer Trail Teams. The teams are from June to September for 2, 5 or 11 weeks in action. The main task is trail building. The teams work in small groups and during their stay they change the camp base. So they have the possibility to see more from beautiful Iceland.

Rachel, Chas and Veit about the next days

Rachel, Veit and I in the front of the glacier Skaftafellsjökull

Rachel, a young British volunteer, picked us up at the airport and gave us a very warm welcome. We started our Iceland trip in Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland, with a city tour. After that we drove to Skaftavell, our basis camp for the next days. In the evening we have had our first contact to the other volunteers. Chas Goemans, the leader of volunteers’ project: Iceland gave us some information about our trip fort the next days. The plan was to inspect the trails on Iceland for wheel chair drivers. Veit, my handicapped partner, is a wheel chair driver. We started this “operation” on the other morning.
After this interesting days we change our camp base and drove to Landmannerlauga. The trip to Landmannerlauga was very varied. We saw the coast, the mountains with waterfalls and areas like a desert. Landmannerlauga is a base camp for many hikers all over the world. A pleasant change was the warm spring water and it was a fantastic experience to enjoy a bath. The volunteers in Landmannerlauga sleep in tents. During our stay the volunteer’s task was to repair a trail at a waterfall.

After one night we left this place and drove forward on our Iceland trip to Hveravellir. At this place you feel the volcanic side of Iceland – and you can smell it. The water cooks everywhere and the steam pressure makes a lot of noise. It is possible to swim in this hot water – but you must be careful with it. Also we tested this area to go there by a wheel chair. Veit made a lot of interesting experiences. The next day (our last day) we visited the most beautiful waterfall on Iceland – the Golfos. In this area we saw a lot of small lochs, called Geysir. After our visit we drove back to Reykjavik. Rachel accompanied us to the airport and we had a warm farewell there.
It was a wonderful week on Iceland with a lot of experiences. We had a lot of good insights to see how the volunteers work on Iceland. A special thank to Rachel (our full time counsellor) and Chas. They made a really good job and had been around us all day. We missed nothing. THANK YOU!

 

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Have you also had the chance to participate in the volunteers’ exchange by GRUNDTVIG? We would be pleased to receive your report of experience to make it public here. Please send it to: anne.schierenberg@europarc-deutschland.de