June is all about weeding, watering and transplanting. Our seedlings are in a crucial stage of their development and need constant attention. June also meant saying Goodbye to our Italian EVS Mirko.
Here are a few of his own words about his experience and thoughts about EVS:
“My overall experience here has been wonderful. It has been an experience that I enjoyed, loved and that taught me an incredible amount of new things. This will probably be a period that I will remember fondly for the rest of my life as one of the best I have had.
The project in the Tree Nursery, was absolutely outstanding. The work is very interesting and appropriate for volunteers who enjoy environmental activities and are concerned with environmental issues. The working environment is great, I felt completely at ease and useful in the day to day running of a tree nursery.
EVS is a really good programme which opens up great opportunities for young people. We need more European awareness, we need more links between the people in Europe, so that we may fight against prejudice and create a stronger and more friendly European community. Keep this service running, it’s essential and fantastic.“
Beatriz, one of our Spanish EVS, has a great time watering all the plants, inside and outside. But since Pascal has set up a superior watering system in our polytunnels we find her more and more enjoying weeding. Vanessa, our second Spanish volunteer, is also weeding like a champion to keep the nursery under control.
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| Beatriz weeding Alder (Alnus glutinosa) |
“I’m doing weeding and I’m very happy. I love the job.“
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| Vanessa weeding Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) |
Dulce, our Portuguese volunteer, is in her fifth month in the nursery. After spending the last few days of winter here she is now enjoying the (nearly) continous sunshine. Happy to have a change of scene, she did not miss the opportunity to take a few snaps.
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| Crawfordsburn Country Park |
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| Collecting Wild Cherry (Prunus avium). |
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| Lettuce and peas grown by the volunteers. |
“This month we started the seed collection of Wild Cherry in Crawfordsburn Country Park. It is a very nice park for all kinds of activities, like walking, jogging and pic-nics. In the photos you can see a bit of the park and Vanessa and Sissy collecting Wild Cherry. Even with all the work, the volunteers had the time to grow some vegetables during this month.“
On 4th, July we welcomed a new volunteer from Germany, Nicole. During her first weekend she dove head first into the local community, enjoying a free concert in the nearby village of Groomsport and her first pint in Donegan’s infamous beer garden. With her help we are sure to win the fight against the weeds.