ACP volunteers are living your dream, by past volunteer Simon If you are a nature lover then you probably dream of living in the bush, including waking up to the sound of the forest and having a bush-breakfast. You then dream of working with exotic plants and animals in the forest, before falling asleep in the evening; once again to the sound of the forest. Now, the thing is that what I just described does not have to be a dream, but reality. If you have been an ACP volunteer you will have seen and done these things. I had not only the other volunteers as neighbours, but for some time even a large chameleon. The lemurs then, as you would guess, are rarely tiresome to study. The littoral forest of south eastern Madagascar is a forest full of surprises, of the positive kind that is. Since you are surrounded by people with the same fascination, you will feel right at home as well. Already a month into the scheme - after spending a weekend in town - we talked about returning to the bush as going home. Sure, after a month away you might want to access the internet for messages and mail, but the bush was indeed home. Well, saying bush might be a bit misleading since it sounds like there are no people around except other ACP volunteers and staff. You stay in Sainte Luce, which you can say includes a number of hamlets of which all are close to or by the shoreline. In these you will find friendly locals, who know why you are there and are grateful for it. You might even get the chance to take part in a bush party, which means socialize and try out dances. That is a ”dont miss”! During your stay you will carry out research together with the others, mainly focusing on lemurs, herps (frogs and lizards) as well as a few endangered plants. This means that you will be out in the forest during both daylight and after dark. The latter is a special experience and there is nothing quite like an ”evening lemur transect” or ”evening herp sweep”. But you will also be planning lessons and carry them out in the local school. This is indeed an important part, since you help the children to gain some of that education you as a westerner often take for granted. You will certainly make a difference if you join the program, not only for the locals but also for yourself. Simon Edman edmanphoto.se
Posted on: Sun, 04 May 2014 11:00:00 +0000
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