Meet

Nico Bedau

Berlin, Germany

Q.  How long have you been working on the project? 

A.  I arrived here on August 20 and I’ll stay until December 30^th.  Since I arrived in the middle of the project, there were already about 20 volunteers here from Germany and Greece.  The Greek volunteers were here after having worked on the project a few years ago.  They wanted to see what had happened since the last time they were here.

Q.  What do you think about the perception that the Greeks are a little behind the time in terms of behaviors like littering and not caring about the environment.  Since you are part German and part Greek, how do you feel about this?

A.  I see the issues from a different perspective.  I know a lot about the whole country and the entire country is so natural, like no other European country.  Many people come here from Germany and are critical about what they see.  They forget that Germany’s environment has been largely destroyed, and so little natural environment is left.  The Greeks are still learning that they must care for their environment.  They still do things the way that they did 30 years ago, i.e. burning their garbage in the villages.  If you go to larger cities like Athens, you don’t see these sorts of things.  It’s not quite fair to come from Germany and be critical without understanding the development of the country.  It is their own country and their responsibility; they must find a way to solve the problems.

Q.  How did you find out about the project and make arrangements to join?

A.  I checked out the EVS database and looked for Greek environment projects.  I made a list of interesting projects and then I went to Athens to visit the project offices.  I spoke with WWF, Caretta, and HOS.  HOS made the best impression and I applied to the organization.  It was easy to apply and I was confirmed to join the project.

Q.  How does this experience fit into the work that you are doing at the University in Berlin?

A.  Every student must do a four-month long practical project as part of his or her studies.  I’m in the Landscape Architecture school.  There are three specializations: landuse planning, landscape architecture, ecological landuse.  During the first two years I studied a little of each.  Before coming here, my interest was in landscape architecture, but my interest was growing towards ecological landuse.  I thought that this project would allow me to get some experience in ecological landuse, so I came to do a project with the organization that focused on mapping and landuse within the area. 

Q.  Had you ever done any volunteer work prior to joining the project?

A.  This is the first environmental project that I worked on.  In Berlin, I worked with a group of others on our own, not under any organization.  We created art workshops with disabled people, and we created street art projects that we initiated without being paid.  Many of us were graffiti artists.  We wanted to raise awareness about the beauty of graffiti and how it made the city more attractive.

Q.  What parts of this project have you most enjoyed?  What have been the highlights?

A.  Working with the animals and has been most enjoyable.  It is interesting and impressive how energetic some of the other volunteers are about the animals.  The people who are studying these animals are knowledgeable, professional and passionate.  Some of the people are really sacrificing so much of their life for little or almost no money.  That is admirable. 

On another hand, I found it was quite interesting that in the campground with 20 other people you had to find a way to get in contact with everybody.  Of course, there were people who I liked more or less, but on the project you had to work with everybody and find some way to enjoy each other.  In the city you get used to choosing who to be with but here everyone works and lives together.

Q.  What has been difficult or challenging?

A.  To be honest, it is a sacrifice to do the work that is assigned.  In addition, it has been frustrating because certain information was not available or at times the information was not complete.  Sometimes it seemed that only certain information was shared, and the same information was not shared with everyone.  It was difficult to deal with these discrepancies.

Q.  At times did you feel like that you didn’t know what was happening and how decisions were being made?

A.  Yes.  I came here to work on a different project that had to do with landuse and vegetation.  Because of some secrecy about parts of the project, I couldn’t make progress and I ended up working with the chameleons.  In the end, the project has been a good experience and I’ve enjoyed working here.  I learned a lot of things about reptiles and chameleons that I would not have learned if I had stuck with my original project.

Q.  What part of this experience do you think you’ll carry with you as you continue to study at the University?

A.  I’ve started working on mapping the vegetation and land use.  Next year I’ll come back with more equipment like GPS and computers so that I could do the job properly.  Also, I would like to ask two friends to come back with me.  Together we could design some solutions for beach access and how the area is utilized.  Perhaps tourists could be channeled into specific areas away from the chameleon habitat.

Q.  If you had the opportunity to advise people or motivate them to get involved in a volunteer project, what would you say to them?

A.  I think it depends on individual goals.  It is important to enjoy and benefit from the experience.  I would tell people to bring everything they need to complete the work that they want to do and to come prepared with as much background information as possible.  If a person just wants to participate as a volunteer then it is okay to just come and do the work that the others do.  However, if you want to achieve something on your own, make sure you have all the arrangements made in advance.  Once you arrive, it is very difficult to get information or help.  Volunteering here has been a good experience. 

 Meet

Eleni Oberbauer

Salzburg, Austria

Q.  How long have you been working on this project?

A.  I started the project on the 30^th of August.  I’ll stay for 8 weeks and leave at the end of October.

Q.  How did you find out about this project? 

A.  I wanted to work on a project related to marine biology, and I wanted to come to Greece.  I checked the internet and this project interested me.  I like chameleons.  A professor of mine recommended me to the Hellenic Ornithological Society and I was accepted as a volunteer.  

Q.  Is the time you’re spending as a volunteer related to your studies at the university? 

A.  No.  I finished my studies.  This experience is for my personal interests.  I heard so many people say that they volunteered to work on nature and environmental projects and I wanted to also do so. 

Q.  When did you finish your studies?

A.  I’m finished with my studies except for my final exam.  When I return to Austria, I have to study for and take the exam and then I’ll receive my Masters Degree.

Q.  Had you ever worked as a volunteer before on a project like this?

A.  I had never worked on a project like this.  One time, I was in Israel working as a volunteer but is was not like this work.  I was in Israel on holiday when I met two American girls who worked for a church.  I asked them if I could help with their work and I worked with them for six months.  The work was making medical packages for Ethiopian children.

Q.  What have you most enjoyed about this project? 

A.  The hatching.  This is the time when the eggs hatch and the juveniles emerge from the nests.   

Q.  What made that special to you?

A.  It was working in the night.  We were doing the hatching when I first came.  The first night I saw my first hatching; the juveniles….  I never thought I would fall in love so much with this animal.  I also like the night patrols and digging holes to put posts in the ground.

Q.  What has been the most difficult part of working on this project?

A.  Riding the bicycle was very difficult for me in the beginning*.  I had to work very hard to keep up with the others.  Now, I don’t think about the trip.

Q.  Do you have any plans to use any of the experiences that you have had while working on this project? 

A.  I’m thinking about starting a doctorate to study either chameleons or birds.

Q.  Where would you study?

A.  If I was going to study chameleons I would apply to a university in Bonn.  There is a professor there who is an expert in chameleons.  For birds, I could remain in Austria and study there.  I definitely want to come back here for six months next year.  I’m really enjoying this project.  This is the best time of my life!

Q.  What advice do you have for people who might be considering working on a volunteer project?

A.  I would say that volunteer work is not only a vacation and socializing.  Many young people think this way.  A person should only volunteer if their heart is in the work. 

Q.  Why should anyone become a volunteer?  Why do all this hard work and without being paid?

A.  Because you are closer to nature.  You can live with people from all over the world and learn about them.  You can help the animals and see the result of your efforts.  A person should try the work and see all the benefits.  When I worked with the girls in Israel I didn’t get paid but the feeling of helping someone else was more important than earning money. 

*The volunteers travel 3 miles via bicycle from the campsite where they stay to the work area.

 Meet

Armand-Bernard Marguerite

 Normandy, France

Q.  How long have you been working on this project?   

A.  I began July 1st and will work until  January.  I’m working through the European Voluntary Service (EVS).  It is a program that places volunteers throughout Europe on many different projects.  For me, I was interested in working on an environmental or nature project and found this project through EVS. 

Q.  When you were considering doing volunteer work what organizations did you contact?

A.  I first contacted EVS because a friend of mine told me about the organization.  After I finished my studies, I could not find any work and I wanted to get some experience working in my area of interest.  I met with a representative of EVS and he told me to check out their website to see if there were any projects that interested me.  I found a number of interesting projects and decided to apply to EVS to become a volunteer.  I was accepted at three different projects.  One was working with sea turtles here in Greece.  A second project that I could have worked on was in Poland.  There, I would have worked at an “eco-museum.”  I chose this project because of the six month duration, the varied types of work and the different species that are found in the Pylos area.

Q.  Had you ever done any volunteer work prior to joining EVS?

A.  No, no, no.  I had never done any other volunteer work prior to joining EVS.  But, it has been a good experience.  I have learned many things about how to approach people with ideas, how to organize my time and follow through with tasks.  Also, when I arrived my English was not very good and I had trouble talking with other volunteers.  Now, I speak much better and feel more comfortable. 

Q.  What do you most enjoy about working on the project?

A.  I enjoy working and learning about the chameleons.  My other interest is birds but, in France there are many bird species and I can work with birds there.  I live in Normandy where it is cold and there are no chameleons.  The chameleon is very interesting.  I like working on the nesting.  It is interesting to look for the places where the chameleon makes her nest.  I search near the beach; the sun and sea are beautiful.  Here, I have the opportunity to study the birds in the Gialova lagoon.  In France, I worked with a professional ornithologist.  I knew a little bit about birds but, here I have a lot of time to learn about birds.  I can make observations and twice each week I count the number of birds in the lagoon.  I’ve learned the bird names in Latin and I can communicate with people from other countries by using the Latin names.

Q.  What do you find the most difficult and/or challenging?

A.  The planning and schedule is always changing.  For the short-term volunteers it doesn’t matter so much.  For me the changing schedule is difficult.  Planning is difficult because each day the work changes and so does the time for working.  Also, many new volunteers come, which means having to explain the same things over and over.  Approximately 50 volunteers have come and gone.  Each time it is more tiring.  The actual work is interesting, but explaining the work is tiring.  Life in the campsite can be difficult.  For one thing, there is no privacy.  Living in the tents is difficult.  In the summer it was very hot in the tents by 9 a.m.  When I worked the night patrol, I would go to sleep by 5 a.m., but by I would have to leave the tent by 9 a.m. because of the heat. 

Q.  Do you think you will use the experience from this project?  If, so, how?

A.  For me, I will keep working on environmental projects.  I’d like to work with projects that protect species.  I plan to find other projects that do work with ecosystems, environmental education or forests.  There are more and more projects protecting the environment so I will try to find more work in this area.  One project I would like to pursue is to obtain funding for the rehab of the pump house* so that it could be used for education about the lagoon, chameleons and the environment.  This would be a perfect use of the building.  Once I obtain funding, then I could begin the rehabilitation.  Also, I have met people from Australia, Poland and other countries.  I would like to visit these people and learn about the work that is happening in their country to protect the environment. 

Q.  What advice would you give to people who are considering becoming a volunteer? 

A.  That is a big question.  Have an idea about what your interests are.  Use the internet to search for organizations.  Being a volunteer here is very rewarding.  You learn many things both about the environment and people from different places.  Yes, volunteer, it is a good thing. 

* The pump house is an old structure located near the lagoon.