O testemunho No. 1 da Afrodite (SPEA)

I started my volunteering experience in November 2021.

Spin association was the Hosting organization that coordinated the procedure while SPEA organization was the one I am working/volunteering for. SPEA stands for ‘Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves’ and it’s work is around the fields of natural protection, conservation, and environmental education in regards to the bird species of Portugal.

I cannot but begin to say how thankful I am to SPEA association for all their welcoming and friendly manners. Their support and guidance from the beginning of the program until now have been heart-warming for me. I am currently working under the supervision of Carolina Bloise who has been a great supervisor and team worker. At the same time we work closely with Ana Esteves and Alexandra Lopes and we all together are part of the department of citizenship and environmental education in SPEA. I have had an amazing collaboration with them all and I really enjoy the time working together with them. Overall I feel I am very lucky to have this opportunity to work with SPEA since there is so much space given to me for personal and professional growth in the field of environmental education.

As part of our work in environmental education are the school visits in Lisbon and the workshops we carry out to foster environmental awareness and urge the need for environmental protection and conservation. Part of my duties is the preparation of educational material and assistance during the demonstrations of workshops. Working with this particular age group of children and within the theme of environmental education is a first-time experience for me and the learnings I withdraw on a daily basis are many. Having worked in education in the past I see this as an amazing opportunity to grow my knowledge and experience in regards to the educational needs of this age and within this topic.

An addition to the things I have been working on in SPEA is the assessment of educational material from external partners within the framework of erasmus + educational programs. This experience gave me the opportunity to learn how to be critical about educational material resources and how to look for quality in resonance with our specific context of Portuguese school curriculums. The learning I gather from the experience and knowledge of the people I work with is what helps me be able to assess such material. This part of my work has been very great as well to help me build up knowledge and experience in environmental education that can foster environmental awareness and will for environmental protection.
Overall these have been the main streams of work that I was focused on so far and I can’t wait for what is next and the new experiences that I will add to this year of volunteering with SPEA.