Field volunteer program in wildlife and ecosystem monitoring in Greece

Goal

The goal of our field volunteer program is to contribute to sustainable development in the area of the inner Ionian on land and sea of the communities of the islands of Kalamos and Kastos. It is part of the kalamos and Kastos sustainable development program.An important goal of this program is to help educate and inspire people from around the world with respect to sustainability and nature conservation. It is based in the Kalamos Island biological field station. Volunteers work on a pre-agreed plan with us based on the structure of our program.

It is possible for undergraduate and postgraduate thesis projects to be completed through participation in this program.

How it works

There are two ways you can participate in our work. The first is by participating in one of our pre-arrange activities for the field season. The second is to organize an activity for each volunteer individually in one of our thematic areas of work . We work out a pre-agreed plan on an individual volunteer basis which can include a mixture of activities both pre-arranged and an individual basis one in one of our thematic areas .

Our thematic areas are as follows:

• Sustainable agriculture and agroforestry
• Forest ecosystem Protection and Restoration
• Restoration of agricultural diversity
• Restoration of marine ecosystems
• Sustainable fisheries management
• Anthropogenic impacts on marine and terrestrial ecosystems
• Anthropogenic pollution measurement and reduction
• Wildlife monitoring and management
• Ecosystem monitoring
• Land use rights
• Marine tenure
• The economics of sustainable development
• Rights of use of natural resources
• Biocontrol of introduced species
• Social justice and related issues in natural resource management and sustainable development
• Applied animal and plant biological conservation
• Modelling of biological populations
• Marine ecology
• Plant ecology

We currently have four pre- arranged activities. These are:

1. Building the Kalamos Island Eco-community and experimental organic fruit and vegetable farm
2. Feral cat monitoring program for Kalamos ,Kastos and their satellite islands
3. Marine ecosystems monitoring program
4. Ornithological habitat observations

FAQ

• The cost of the program is 20 euros per day or 600 euros per month(30 calendar day period)
• The minimum amount of time a volunteer can stay with us is 15 calendar days
• All necessary training and orientation including assistance where needed, is included.
• Related transport in the general area of the project(Kalamos, Kastos and the satelite islands), Accommodation and other related facilities such as shared kitchen facilities, laundry and drying facilities,shared toilet and shower facilities access and also areas for for work are included and are covered by the fee. A basic housekeeping facility once a week is also included which also includes linen and bed sheet changes .Full access to wifi internet and computers is included .Τhere is no meal plan .Kalamos is in an area where food can be purchased easily from local shops,super markets etc however. If you plan to come as a group( more than three people) then arrangements can potentially be made for a meal plan at an additional cost. Contact us to discuss further if you are interested in this option.
• It is possible to conduct an undergraduate or postgraduate dissertation or thesis through participation in this program

More details on this for both our thematic areas, the pre-arranged activities and the structure of our Volunteer program, including our terms and conditions can be found in the rellevant part of our website