O testemunho No. 2 do Joan (SPEA)

 

Hello everyone 

The months go by and new people and new experiences appear. There are also others to which I must say goodbye, or until the next one, but which I will remember for a long time. Having already spent half of my volunteering in Portugal, I have become accustomed to Faro and its people, as well as to the pace of life in the Algarve, very different from that of Barcelona.

In our project, the LIFE Ilhas Barreira, we continue working for the conservation of seabirds and the Ria Formosa. Tasks in the spring are different to those in the winter, mainly because the seagull colony has already formed on Barreta Island, where thousands of birds are breeding, to which we watch and monitor closely. The truth is that it is quite spectacular to see how this season fills the islands that seemed so empty in winter with life.

In addition to the work related to my project, I have also had the opportunity to participate in other small actions by my own, and I have been able to continue training and learning in my field, the biology of conservation. In addition, I was able to visit the Berlengas Islands, which I had heard so much about, and I was able to work with species I had only seen in the field guides. I look forward to the months I have left here and the things I have left to experience, though with some sadness to see the end approaching.

O testemunho No. 1 do Joan (SPEA)

 

 Hello Everyone 

My name is Joan and I am from Barcelona. I came to Portugal on November 2021 to start my volunteering program in a project with the Marine Conservation Dptm. from SPEA in Faro, in the Portuguese Algarve.

I had already participated in similar projects, in which I had to live near where the field work was, but I had not yet lived outside of Spain. That was one of the reasons why this was an experience I couldn't miss.

Although the first few weeks were a bit chaotic, I immediately got to know the people I share the project with, and I was able to make other friends in the city. In fact, beyond the project, and as part of the experience, I have been able to meet people with similar interests to mine with whom I can share my free time. Really, I don't have much time to get bored.

since I’ve been here, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to do a wide variety of tasks, from spending days on a boat doing seabird censuses to being able to scour the Algarve coast monitoring endangered species populations. We’ve also done tougher tasks like removing exotic flora or controlling invasive wildlife, 

But I can say that I’ve enjoyed each one. Between all this work and my free time, I am learning a lot about things I already knew and others that I am discovering, On top of all that, I was able to continue my training as a biologist through online courses and training, which was one of my goals before I came here.

For now, I look forward to the arrival of spring and the beginning of the nesting season for birds in the area, as well as seeing the awakening of life on the islands where we work. Let's see what surprises it brings us.

O testemunho final da Maria (SPEA)

After a year of pandemic, the whole world stopped. I was at my home looking for new opportunities, a little bit worried about the difficult situation that we were living...

One day I received an e-mail, and everything changed. One year ago, I moved to Faro (Portugal), and I started one of the best experiences I ever had. Connecting with a new country, nature, and people around the world is definitely one of the best ways for a young and adventurous person to gain perspective about life. 
From the beginning, I felt at home. Portugal is a very international country, we worked with people from different parts of the world (Poland, England, France, Australia...).

Over the last year, I have lived in close and peaceful harmony with a lot of different people, developing an intercultural close relationship between our international team.

 It was a very constructive way to develop empathy, teamwork, support each other’s and understand how important cooperation is. Due to my multilingual competencies, I can deeply understand new cultures, social and natural conflicts around the world, I discovered a wide variety of music styles and I make lovely new friends.

Since I was young, I felt admiration for the marine world. On vacation, I used to go to see dolphins and whales in the Strait of Gibraltar with my mum but until this year I didn't have yet the opportunity to take part in a marine conservation team. It is a dream that has come true. I am really motivated to discover how many people are part of environmental initiatives to improve nature around the world. 

I feel very fascinated about how many are connected with marine conservations projects, sustainable fisheries, and responsible consumers. I also learn to check better the origin and the quality of the products that I consume. I could learn how different is everything when you cross frontiers and how natural resources create international conflicts that apparently are not related to us, but our way to consume and live is directly responsible for that. So I also deeply understand how important is to be a responsible consumer. This year I had the opportunity to work on a LIFE conservation project (Life Ilhas Barreira). 

The Life program is a European funding instrument for the environment and climate action. It was very stimulating to get involved with an institution that is part of something bigger focused on nature conservation. I feel very lucky because the attitude of the others members of my “new little family” influence me in a very positive way. 

Facing new situations I discovered how strong and flexible I am and also that my role in the groups is very important because I am a very enthusiastic person and that is contagious. Thanks to my EVS experience, nowadays I feel more confident, very motivated to develop my passion for marine biology, and ready to participate in new conservation projects.

I also improved my African percussion skills and it contributed greatly to my integration into the local community. From the first week, I get in contact with a very active cultural association with a wide variety of artistic and social events that I enjoy a lot and also was a medium through which I learned about different cultures, music, history and had fun.

Also, I was very lucky to find a Bird Ringing Station, close to where I lived, located in a beautiful natural area, that give me the opportunity to disconnect from my daily activities and give me a different perspective about wildlife. I took part in a ringing group of Portuguese experts about wildlife focus on birds and I improve a lot my ringins skills, at the same time that I learn more about the country. Thanks to this lucky experience I could pass my ringing test in my country and I obtained my professional ringing license that is really important for my professional future. It is difficult to express my feelings after a year full of lovely experiences: navigate with dolphins and whales, Sleep on a desert island, monitoring wildlife, nature, lovely people, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, support nature conservation actions, learn

Portuguese.....but, definitely the people that I met were the best of the year.

I am so grateful for this amazing experience.