EUROPEAN VOLUNTEERS IN MARIMURTRA BOTANICAL GARDEN

Where? Marimurtra Botanical Garden, BlanesCatalonia, Spain

Stay from 1.10.23 to 30.06.24

1 project – 2 vacancies for youth form the European Union 

European Volunteers in Marimurtra Botanical Garden

Project context

The Carl Faust Foundation is responsible for the management and ongoing development of the Marimurtra Botanical Garden, keeping the fundamental objectives of the Garden alive and working. The Foundation was created in 1952 by German philanthropist Carl Faust, who starting in 1918, created the Marimurtra Botanical Garden.

In the present times, Marimurtra Botanical Garden aims to be again a milestone for everyone interested in Botany. We start anew joining this international cooperation program, following the traces of its own past history.

The activities of a botanical garden are not limited to a collection of plants and its preservation. There are other, more social activities which have positive impacts beyond the garden itself.

For example, one of the agreed functions of a botanical garden is to educate and disseminate information about the importance of the plant world, the benefits that it brings to us all, and how gardens shelter additional local biodiversity from the surrounding area.

Marimurtra Botanical Garden annually receives visitors from different nationalities. Communicating with this social diversity, whether actively or passively, involves significant attention to social relationships.

Objectives

The volunteer project takes into account not only the sustainable conservation of the collection of plants but also the tasks related to climate change research, dissemination and education and social movements that arise, offering multiple learning opportunities and formation perfectly framed in the objectives of the Solidarity Corps.

The long-term objective of the project is to promote and consolidate international volunteering in both the Foundation, and particularly in the Botanical Garden, in accordance with the founding objective of playing a role in international cooperation. Creating a quality volunteering project at Marimurtra is an important aspect of achieving this objective.

The immediate Objectives of this project are:

  • To raise awareness for the importance of biodiversity and the roles played by plants in ecological sustainability and society
  • To inform society about environmental threats posed by climate change effects – identification and communication of issues, discussion of sustainable mitigation of the risks
  • To share the importance of ecological lifestyles with young people in the local community
  • To provide the chance for international volunteers to bring their own ideas and initiatives, learn a new language and live as part of a different culture

Accomodation

The volunteers will be accomodated in Blanes. The flat is next to the Botanical garden (5 min walking N) in the city center, they can easily get to the Blanes main beach and a bus station. Each volunteer will have his/her own room and they’ll share the common areas.

Linguistic support

The volunteers will take part in a catalan course, due to the active collaboration with Consorci de Normalització Lingüística.

Col·laborador Projecte voluntariat Marimurtra                 Col·laborador Projecte voluntariat Marimurtra               Col·laborador Projecte voluntariat Marimurtra