The EOG Association for Conservation has been set up to provide grants to help conservation projects, but it also hopes to be able to provide a community for the industry and those receiving funding. To further support the projects being funded the Association is pleased to introduce a Volunteering area to the website.
To launch this new initiative, Mark Held, Manager of the Association volunteered himself to help on one of the projects. “Spending time working with the project was a hugely rewarding experience and by the end of the week I felt as if I understood a lot, lot more about the value of the site and its biodiversity. I’d recommend it to anyone who can find the time” commented Mark. Mark went to help out during Heritage Week at the Irish Peatland Conservation Council’s (IPCC) bog in Co. Kildare, Ireland. IPCC were one of five conservation projects to receive a grant from the EOG Association for Conservation for 2007.
During Heritage Week 2007, the IPCC, with the help of volunteers of all ages and abilities, removed invasive species and carried out coppicing of birch trees to help manage the Lullymore West Bog Wildlife Reserve in Co. Kildare, Ireland as part of the Marsh Fritillary Butterfly Conservation Project. The aim was to remove trees and tree seedlings from the bog so as to preserve the habitat of the endangered marsh fritillary butterfly.
The vast majority of conservation projects depend heavily on volunteers. For most it’s the only way they get any work on projects completed and the volunteers are a vital way for projects to keep their overheads down. Each project has its own requirements for volunteers, some are for specific projects, others general and some prefer only to take people for internships.
The ‘Volunteering’ page on the EOG Association for Conservation website links you to the individual project’s website page for volunteers, so that anyone interested can contact them directly – www.eogconservation.org/volunteering.html
