August has come and past. We have been driving around Northern Ireland collecting seeds, enjoying nature and the wonderful landscape. Our two EVS volunteers have been enjoying training, hikes and culture; without further ado here is what they have to say.
First Nicole’s in depth report about her adventures in August:
“August has been a really hot month so we enjoyed the weather at the beach and went jogging along the nice footpath between Bangor and Crawfordsburn. Because of the good weather we started going to the swimming pool every week.
In this month there have happened many events. There was the leaving-party of a Spanish volunteer where everybody came together. Also, a lot of festivals took place in Belfast. I went to the Pride-Day and the T-Vital where I met new local people who have been really nice to me. Another attraction has been the Caribbean festival, where we got the chance to get to know the Caribbean community and their culture better.
For one of my weekends I went for a trip to Dublin where we visited the different churches and monuments. Especially the Dublin museum which informed us about Irish history, has been quite interesting. Another day trip had been to Lisburn and Portadown where we got to known with the area.
Belfast hasn’t been the only place where some events have happened. We also started to go to Ward Park in Bangor to listen to the music and see some traditional Northern Irish dances. I also started going to the local Bangor drama club where I had the chance to participate in the play “An Actor’s Nightmare” by Shakespeare. ThereI also met more of the lovely local people.
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| Nicole at the Giants Causeway |
In the tree nursery it has been our task to make beds and to cut some trees. Because of the hot weather we had to do a lot of watering. Apart from that, we went to different places like Crawfordsburn and Whitespot Park to collect Hazelnut and Downy Birch.
Me and the other EVS volunteers drove to Derry where we got to know the other TCV-office, the forest and the town.
Back in tree nursery I took part in a training course. I learned different things about the right treatment of the environment, for example how to prevent environmental damage. I also gained knowledge about the different weeds like Japanese Knotweed, Dandelion, Daisy, and Bindweed, which I faced every day in my work. It feels good to ‘to put a name to a face’, as they say here. We learned how they look and how one can prevent them spreading out. At the end of the training there was a test, to recognize the different plants, which I passed.
In the last week of this month my family came to Bangor to visit me. We went together to the Giant’s Causeway and to the Carrik-a- rede–rope–bridge. We had a wonderful time together.”
To follow Nicole’s report here is Dulce’s experiences of the Culture Day in Holywood:
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| Karate Kids |
“A multi cultural exposition was one of the many events of this night. The ethnic minorities living in Northern Ireland had the chance to show a little of their culture.
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| A Wrumm-Wrumm of Harleys |
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| Traditional Irish Dancing |
The town host other events too such as street musicians, dance troupes, karate kids, Harleys’ exhibition and Irish dance performance”
In the tree nursery we shall keep collecting more seeds, while in our free time we will enjoy the abundance of cultural events the late summer presents to us in the form of festivals, fayres and traveling.
More information on TCV and EVS:
The Conservation Volunteers
Erasmus+ (formerly known as EVS)
Youth In Action Programme