European Wilderness Volunteer Diary

The Diary of the European Wilderness Society Volunteers
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Volunteering at European Wilderness Society

Hi! We are writing from Tamsweg, Austria, where the European Wilderness Society is based. While Rebecca was the first volunteer, who wrote the earlier blog posts, the rest of us volunteers have taken up her mantle to keep this blog going. Here we write about the personal aspects of volunteering life and the adventures we get up to. In the office we each have differing roles but as a team we are all focused in helping each other, in order to meet the mission of making Europe wild again. Here you’ll read about our adventures in the mountains alongside office work and trips further afield.

Our destinations

Embracing New Experiences: My On-Arrival Training with the European Solidarity Corps

1 month agoJana Kögst3 min readAdd comment

Introduction Starting a volunteering journey with the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) was both exciting and a bit daunting. To kick off this experience, I joined an on-arrival training that brought together 20 volunteers from across Austria—Salzburg, Linz, Vorarlberg, Vienna, and Styria. Over four days, we bonded over shared experiences, explored our projects, discussed challenges, and enjoyed Austrian culture. Meeting Volunteers from Across Europe One of the highlights was the diversity of our group. Volunteers came from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, North....

Arriving in Tamsweg: My First Weeks with the European Wilderness Society

2 months agoJana Kögst1 min readAdd comment

Moving to Tamsweg from Germany has been an adjustment. The town is quiet and secluded. Without a car, I walk everywhere, which gives me plenty of time to explore. I’ve found a cozy spot by the river. It’s become one of my favorite places, though I usually save my visits for the weekends when I can relax more. Volunteering at the European Wilderness Society has been engaging but challenging. The Apollo butterfly conservation project requires a lot of focus. Managing habitats and understanding the legal details, like Natura 2000, keeps me busy. The job is interesting, but sometimes the amount....

Mid-term training experience

2 months agoLika kvizhashvili2 min readAdd comment

Believe it or not, I’ve already completed six months of volunteering, which means I’m halfway through my project. It has been an incredibly interesting and memorable experience so far, and I’m hopeful that the next six months will be just as fulfilling.  At the halfway point of an ESC volunteering project, volunteers participate in a mid-term training session. This training focuses on personal reflection, reviewing our experiences in the ESC project so far, and assessing how well it has met our expectations. We also address potential challenges, work on solutions, and set goals for the....

My Volunteering Experience: Aurélien Rinaudo

3 months agoLika kvizhashvili6 min readAdd comment

This post is written by Aurélien Rinaudo. My name is Aurélien Rinaudo, and I am a French student. I completed a European Solidarity Corps (ESC) program for three months, from May to August 2024, in Tamsweg, a small town located in the heart of the Austrian Alps, in the Lungau region.  Context   I was with the NGO European Wilderness Society. The project I worked on was LIFEstockProtect. This initiative aims to develop measures for protecting livestock to enable coexistence with wolves in Austria, Bavaria, and Tyrol (Italy and Austria). This experience allowed me to understand....

Hiking around Tamsweg

5 months agoLika kvizhashvili2 min readAdd comment

Volunteering in a mountainous area has numerous advantages, especially for those who enjoy outdoor activities like hiking. Around Tamsweg, there are countless stunning locations waiting to be explored, and recently, I had the opportunity to visit one of these remarkable spots. Exploring Wetlands with the ALFAwetlands Project As a volunteer for the European Wilderness Society (EWS), I get an introduction to various EWS projects, one of them is ALFAwetlands. My interest in wetlands naturally drew me to explore a wetland area situated atop a nearby mountain. The hike to the wetland was quite....

My experience in the mountains as a volunteer

5 months agoLika kvizhashvili4 min readAdd comment

This post is written by Aurélien Rinaudo. My name is Aurélien, I am French, and I am currently volunteering at the European Wilderness Society. Based in Tamsweg, a small town in the heart of the Austrian Alps, I am making the most of this beautiful region. The town is very pleasant, and I greatly enjoy living in Austria. Passionate about nature and the mountains, I love spending my weekends exploring the surrounding mountains. Volunteering four days a week, I am fortunate to have long weekends to explore these landscapes during less touristy times, an experience I particularly enjoy. Outdoor....

  • 6 Volunteers so far
  • 7 Countries visited
  • 120 km Kilometres hiked
  • 30 + Diary entries