Evs Project: Giovanni Caci, Dzukija National Park

My first time in Lithuania, no, my first time living in North Europe. When my sending organization send me an e-mail when they said that the coordinating organization pick me I had a mix of emotions. I was happy because I came from 3 months of doing nothing and I really don’t like be stopped in one place and that was a great opportunity to work in a big and important National Park that is what I’d like to do in the future. On the other hand I was preoccupied because Lithuania in my imagination was a really cold place with cold people and I was going to live in a little village when in Italy I live in a very big a chaotic city. Besides living your family and friends it’s never easy also when you already did. When I arrived the impact with the cold wasn’t so ugly like I imagined and the other volunteers were all very nice. The house when I live is really wonderful, it seem like a fairytale house: wood house inside the forest and the snow, something magic.


My house in Marcinkonys

Because of the snow there isn’t a lot of work to do in the forest so I do little works in office and I study a lot about the fauna and the flora of the park to be prepared when summer comes and I’ll be a guide for the tourists.
One great thing that we did as volunteers is doing a lesson about some species of bird in the school for kids. We tried to explain them how these species live to intrigue them about the nature around. They made some paper bird (they are always kids) and they enjoyed a lot. Then we went to put some artificial nest on the trees so they had a real contact with the nature of their village and the way how to preserve it. Initially I felt very uncomfortable because I’m not very good with kids besides they don’t speak English so other people translated what I said so there wasn’t a direct contact, but when I started to speak they took attention to the images and the voices of the bird that I showed. I helped to make the paper birds too so I also enjoy that day and I felt like a real teacher (great sensation).


Me helping to make paper birds


Putting artificial nest on the trees

After one month of cold (and one month of sickness), really cold (until -18°) Easter come and we were invited to the ethnographical museum to decorate some eastern eggs with the help of some candles. This is something typical here in Lithuania and also if I’m not good to draw I tried.


Me and Masha trying to decorate eggs


Final result

Marcinkonys is a wonderful village in the middle of the Dzukija national park so the thing that I much love is the real contact with the nature: beautiful bird wake up you in the morning, the air is good and always smell like pine and the time that out my door house I saw a fox was a great emotion for me.. there I know that I was in a special e peaceful place. This village conserve his tradition and promote an ecologic tourism, so I know that I’m going to do a lot of thing that I never do like skiing, cut wood, canoeing in the river and many other things..

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