INTER-PARK PROJECT: ENGAGING PEOPLE FOR NATURE!!

Interestingly, the EVS allows you to discover different cultures, the one of the country where you move but also those of other volunteers: you’ll meet so many young people from all over Europe during your project!! First of all you gather during the on-arrival and mid-term training, where you have the chance to share serious reflective as well as fun moments. Then, during your stay and because of travelling, the network expands and you’ll find several new friends! Consider that, for example, in Lithuania alone there are about 200 volunteers per year!

Moreover, if you find out that you have a lot in common, you can join forces and organise a project together!

That’s what happened to me: I met other volunteers from other parks of Lithuania and we decided to do something together to “Engage people for nature”. Indeed nature conservation is very important for us all and we realized that one way to inspire people to protect it, is simply to let them know more about it! So what we did is a video to talk and show about Lithuanian nature and about volunteering. It was an amazing experience both because of the hard team work on a common project and because of the much fun we had.

In the end this is the aim of the EVS, the creation of an intercultural network and a chance to grow by doing.

Hopefully our video will inspire you to volunteer for what you believe in and to respect and protect our wonderful nature!

Here the links to the project:

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6JA0z39NzkO6c_p7_k-QNw

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/engagingpeoplefornature/

A PROJECT IN THE PROJECT

The EVS, as will be the volunteering with the Solidarity Corps, is the ideal context to challenge yourself. Not only will you try new activities, new “jobs”, but you will also have the chance to develop your own projects. This is a relevant experience as you can unleash your creativity, put into practice your ideas and create something new. Your initiative - which can be big or small and can be one, two or more - will bring added value to your hosting organisation.

Now, a few tips: while drafting your project keep in mind your final goal, take into consideration all possible problems and try to discuss the details with your tutor and mentor.

My idea was to organise an event about owls, to introduce these fascinating animals to the public and promote the re-connection with nature. The central figure was the boreal owl (Aegolius funereus), as exactly 40 years ago the ornithologist of this park discovered the presence of this bird in the forests of the area. After weeks of thinking and planning, the final event was composed of several activities: an introduction about owls, a children workshop, the opening of the owl pellets to find out about their diet, a photo exposition, an excursion in the old-growth forest.

A very interesting day! Well, maybe I am a bit biased. Anyway, it worked out well and I’m happy I did a small part in encouraging people to get a bit closer to nature. We really need that nowadays...

Going back to one's personal projects, that’s not all: you can also do a project with other volunteers, but that deserves a specific article!!

TOURISTS FROM ANYWHERE

The ANP is the oldest and one of the best know national park in Lithuania; it offeres a great variaty of possibilities to relax and to do sport in nature, especially those connected to water, like canoeing and kayaking (personally tried, it’s fun!). Therefore it is chosen every year as perfect destination from many holidaymakers.

As you would expect, the main activity of the volunteer in the park is dealing with tourists.

In summer for example there is the monitoring of the tourists, which is needed to understand touristical trends from year to year. This means that some days, usually on Friday and on Saturday, you should stay in a point of interest and count how many people come and pass by.

But mainly, the task of volunteers is to give information to tourists in the visitor center. Indeed, people from all Europe (and not only) arrive in the visitor center to know more about the park. You can help them with suggestions about where to go, what to see, about natural and cultural heritage. This way you have the chance to meet people from various countries and to have interesting talks about several issues, from travelling to different approaches of habitat management.

There is also the chance – of course after you studied a lot about the park – to lead guided tours! In english or….in you mother tongue! Guided tours are quite pleasing: you can explain to tourists the main peculiarities of the park and you can add informations about what inserests you more. Again, this brings to good conversations with people from other countries about very stimulating topics!

ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!

Living in a park means obviously being all the time surrounded by nature. But to get closer to it, there is something else that you can do as a volunteer: you can take part in the monitoring of the wildlife! You may now wonder what this means: in spring and summer the staff of the nature department controls the presence of some species in the territory of the park. They want to know how many individuals there are and where they are. Each species is monitored every few years so you can be there for the monitoring of one species or another depending on their long-term plan. This activity is very important for a park as it allows to understand if the conservation efferts are effective and to act accordingly.

Therefore this year I could take part in the monitoring of nesting gulls and terns. We went on small protected islands in different lakes and counted the nests and the eggs. It was amazing! There were dozens of nests and hundreds of birds flying around!

Actually this is not the main task of the volunteer here but still, when monitorings are organized and you are not busy, you can ask to join! And if you are passionate about birds and nature as I am, you always try to take part...=)

This experience affected me greatly as it is a way to understand how here environmental protection works and to see what I belive in put into practice.

But to realize how beautiful nature is and how much important it is to protect our environment – you can do it in your work, by volunteering and in your everyday life-, you can easily walk or travel around and explore our wonderful nature, Lithuania and the Baltic States will give you plenty of this opportunities!

Events!!

The park is an instituiton that promotes many cultural events and volunteers are very lucky: they can help in the organisation and...take part in them! So that’s what I do: I join every event, I take pictures and I am ready to help if needed.

The 1st of May was the case: the park, together with the library, organised an excursion along the border between Lithuania and Poland during the period 1919-1939 to remind and talk about that hard moment in the lithuanian history. The borderline was passing trough villages, dividing families and friends

.

Crossing the line was very difficult, but some lithuanians found a smart strategy: as Polish were very religious, they would have never doubt the good intentions of men of faith. Lithuanian traders dressed therefore as a priest and his driver! This way they could pass from Lithuania to Poland and were able to sell theri goods.

The event worked very well: a good walk in the nature, with some stops to remember the past. I enjoyed the day, the nature, taking pictures and the company. Indeed there was the park staff and also some volunteers I met at the on-arrival training. Because, yes, the Evs gives you also the chance to meet many great people!

MALONU

Dear Lithuania and Lithuanians, nice to meet you!

I am Stefania, from Italy, the new EVS* volunteer in the Aukštaitija National Park and I will write this blog about my experience.

I arrived in this marvellous place some weeks ago, when the lakes where still frozen and trees were still sleeping. Got off the plane in the late afternoon I found a sunny weather accompanied by a pretty crazy wind. Not too warm but still not what you expect travelling towards North!

Already from the plane I could discern the typical landscape, but after landed I could appreciate it totally: villages, towns and fields are alternate with woods… although it is a flat country, approximately 33% of Lithuanian territory is covered by forests! That’s a lot!!

But this should not surprise: it seems that Lithuanians have a good attitude to the environment. Because of their past and pagan traditions, they have developed a special relation with nature. This topic is very interesting, it deserves more attention...Volunteering in the national park is a good starting point for it, I’ll try to find out more!

* EVS: the European Voluntary Service is part of the Erasmus+ Programme.