They say time flies when we are having a good time and my first month as an IVY Volunteer has really passed so fast!
My name is Flavia, I am Italian and I am now in France as an IVY Project Partner at Parc Naturel Régional des Vosges du Nord. This Natural Park is, together with its German counterpart (Naturpark Pfälzerwald), part of an UNESCO Transboundary Biosphere Reserve. Sounds like the perfect place to be, doesn’t it?
I am working on the Interreg project “Endangered Animal Species” which focuses on the protection of a very diverse groups of animals which includes butterflies, bats and crayfish. They can be found all over the Reserve and therefore need a collective effort to assure their conservation. Protecting nature is essential to assure a bright and healthy future for everybody and I really like this project because it is the perfect example of why cross-border cooperation is necessary and useful to achieve that.
My main mission here is to help the team during the conservation actions in the field and to assist in the coordination with the German partners, in order to exchange knowledge and establish a cohesive action plan.
Moreover, I have been participating in various dissemination activities like writing some scientific articles or proposing games and performances to children: we teach them how to recognize all the animals they can meet around the Natural Reserve and we show them how easy yet important it is to respect nature and its inhabitants, no matter the species they belong to… or the language they speak!
The Parc des Vosges du Nord is putting in place so many different and interesting actions to protect and valorize not only the natural but also the cultural and architectural heritage of this amazing territory and I am very happy to be part of this team.
Moreover, our office is located inside the Castle of La Petite-Pierre, a little village surrounded by the forest: a truly magical place!
I have already learnt so much and I can’t wait to discover even more about the multiple aspects of cross-border cooperation and biodiversity conservation during the next five months.
Thank you IVY for this opportunity… the best is yet to come!
Flavia, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg project Endangered animal species in the Vosges du Nord – Pfälzerwald Cross-border Biosphere Reserve