Overview

Data on both the population and distribution of wildlife  and ecosystems is essential in protecting them through better informed management decisions and by providing adequate presence on the ground through practical and legal means.However this information is most often lacking for various reasons.The collection of such information becomes more important in the context of areas with very high anthropogenic pressures like the Inner Ionian Archipelago in Western Greece.

Participation can be entirely in data collection or a combination of data collection and analysis depending on what is pre-agreed with successful applicants.

Current activities to which participation can be either individually or in combination include:

  • Monitoring and mapping Posidonia Oceanica Seagrass Habitat
  • Monitoring the population and behavior of the critically endangered monk seal
  • Monitoring bird populations in the terrestrial habitats of our island
  • Standalone projects in one of the thematic areas of our biological field station

It is possible to conduct an undergraduate or postgraduate thesis through participation in our program.

Duration:
Minimum of 15 calendar days and maximum of 12 calendar months. We recommend participation of at least one calendar month.

Location:
Kalamos, Kastos and their surrounding satellite islands(Fermekoula, atokos, arkoudi, kythros, echinades islands) in the inner Ionian sea. Our base location is the main village of Kalamos

Fees:
Monthly fees of 600 euros include:

  • Shared accommodation, access to laundry machine, clothe drying facility at no additional cost, hot/cold water, free wifi, electricity
  • Use of equipment , facilities, and supervision
  • Transport within the area of the program for purposes of work for people working in our pre-arranged activities
  • Greek language lessons
  • Training in related monitoring techniques and analyses
  • one day seminar on ecosystem monitoring and designing and using data to protect wildlife
  • Suitable training tutorials in ecosystem monitoring and related data analyses as needed

* Meals are not included
*Travel costs to/from project location are not included
*For standalone projects that are within the thematic area of this post( but outside our pre- arranged activities, e.g. in an idea for an individual for a stand alone undergraduate or postgraduate project) additional fees may apply

It may be possible to obtain funding through your current institution or rellevant agency to cover some or all of the related costs of a participation such as ERASMUS+.

Application details:
For our field volunteer program an application form can be downloaded from our website with instructions and detailed terms and conditions (www.terrasylvestris.org/getinvolved/volunteering). For our internship program please send a detailed CV and motivation letter to: contact@terrasylvestris.org.

 

Check out more of Terra Sylvestris’ videos on their YouTube channel.

About Terra Sylvestris

We are a not for profit non governmental grassroots organisation registered as a not for profit company and based in Greece composed of a dedicated group of people driven by our desire to protect the environment through specific courses of action such as environmental conservation projects and scientific research targeted towards sustainable development. Key to this object is the achievement of environmental justice in a given area and the conservation of biological diversity.

Our organisation is governed by a board of directors.A voluntary international advisory board provides advice on various issues . Our organisation is operated primarily by volunteers and a smaller number of members of the organisation.

We achieve our goals by providing solutions to local environmental problems through targeted conservation actions, empowerment and education of local communities to protect their environment, relevant legal actions and the provision of viable sustainable economic alternatives to human practices that are environmentally destructive . The logo of our organisation is a symbolic representation of the focus of the organisation in conserving and restoring organisms and ecosystems that support them that are either relatively large in size, great in age for their species or both and specifically large sized individuals particularly within each of three ecological groups highly threatened by human interference : Cetaceans, terrestrial herbivores and large sized and/or aged floral organisms

What we do

We are and will always remain an above-ground movement. This means we will among other things never become or desire to become involved in illegal activities. We aim for maximum transparency in what we do also with society and off course the public and private sector in general.

To achieve our objective we are either currently or potentially active in advocacy for causes and groups, empowerment of local communities and especially indigenous groups to protect their environment and livelihoods, scientific research, lobbying, peaceful protesting and of course direct conservation actions such as for example tree planting and any non violent actions that is within the limits of the law that is also in line with our ethics .

Above all we believe in peaceful actions and strive for this as much as possible with our own actions.

In this context we believe in and also actively engage in collaborations with like minded individuals and groups of these from potentially anywhere in the world.