Meet the Environments for All Volunteers
CHRIS McCARTHY - Brisbane, Australia
March to June 2002 - Environments for All
Well, what can I say? My time with Conservation Volunteers was way better than I ever expected. I worked closely with the “Environments for all” Project and my main projects were at St Gabriels College in North Belfast and with the Belfast Travellers Support Group.
I was originally doing environmental volunteer work in Lapland, Sweden for five months prior to coming to Belfast. I decided to apply for the volunteer position after a holiday in Belfast over New Year. I wanted to gain practical experience in community conservation work, so I thought it was a great opportunity to become a volunteer officer for CNVI.
Studying Environmental Science at University in Queensland for the past five years, and wanting to gain some practical experience in the field, I changed to part time study to be able to volunteer as well. I have always had a love for the “bush” as we call it in Australia, and I was exposed to the natural environment from a very young age, pursuing outdoor adventures in scouts and army cadets.
More recently in my last two years of high school I was given the opportunity to do volunteer work as a wildlife rescuer with the Parks and Wildlife service. I did this work for two years rescuing native wildlife, mostly Koalas that had been injured or sick, assisting in their recovery & return to the wild. This was very satisfying and sowed the seed for my love of the environment and I began seeking a career within it. My future aspirations are to work in community and landholder conservation work, bringing environmental awareness and responsibility to the wider community.
I’d say my time with Conservation Volunteers was one of the best experiences of my life and will remain with me for a long time to come.
AGNES MWAKANJUKI - Tanzania
March to August 2004 - Environments for All, Wildflower Nursery
My name is Agnes Mwakanjuki originally from Tanzania. I'm studying a degree programme in Environmental Engineering in Finland. What should I say hmmmm? It has been a good experience working with Conservation Volunteers for six months. I was involved with two projects since I started. Working with communities on the Environments for All project was, in other words, "more fun" as building walls which I had never done before! It was great to learn some new skills and encourage local communities and children to participate in building their society! I have always liked flowers since my childhood and I have always dreamed of having my own garden. Being in the wildflower nursery has enabled me to learn new ways of protecting wild flowers as a part of nature. My most preferable work which has been the best was maintaining biodirversity of aquatic plants! Hopefully to be my dream future career!
Therefore working with Conservation Volunteers has been very interesting and helpful to me! I encourage everyone out there that there are so many opportunities that Conservation Volunteers can offer to the volunteers!
"Love the nature as you like yourself"
SEBASTIAN JENTSCH - Calau, Germany
August 2004 to February 2005 - Environments for All
After 4 years of studying and two placements in Germany, I had the idea that it’s time for change. Not simply a change by taking a break from study, but rather by doing something worthwhile, in an area of work that I haven’t experienced before. I have opted for Conservation Volunteers because they offered me the opportunity to combine hands-on work with my field of study - media communication. While working as a Publicity Volunteer Officer, I can opt at times for outdoor work and that’s a great way of combining what I enjoy.
I have been here for just over a week, but I have already met some very likable people working with Conservation Volunteers. It is so simple to get in touch with the people here. Conservation Volunteers work means to enjoy a friendly and warm atmosphere. During my first month I am going to join different projects and teams. That is to give me a good start in publicity work by having knowledge about the people and the projects itself.
As someone who has never been to Northern Ireland before, I can warmly recommend living in Belfast, at least for a while. Due to the troubled background of Northern Ireland there are lots of problems in some districts and I’ve learned that Conservation Volunteers tries to tackle community problems with the use of environmental projects. This is just one part of the work and I will try to help them as much as I can.