Terra Sylvestris biological field station and eco-community

Goal

The goal of our field volunteer program is to contribute to sustainable development in the area of the Inner Ionian island archipelago in Greece , and is part of the kalamos and Kastos sustainable development program.An important goal of this, 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.



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

• Modeling of biological populations

• Marine ecology

• Plant ecology



We currently have three 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 Surveys



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 information documents that you can download at the end of this page



Volunteer selection process

We operate on a non discriminatory policy basis. People of all ages 18 or above can potentially join the program provided they can show the relative commitment and ethos .We try our best to fit what we do to the individual volunteer .We don’t separate people based on gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religious belief.
Commitment to our cause is an essential characteristic of any volunteer. For us the ideal volunteer is a person that can turn a problem into a success.
We have a two stage application process whereby following the first stage of the application process of sending the form ,a second stage follows where a live interview is held via skype , telephone or in person .


Staff

At present the volunteer coordinator is Ted Karfakis , a native of Kalamos Island and an ecologist with many years of experience working in related projects and that has worked in volunteer orientation and training in related projects in several parts of the world.Τhe biological field station which is the basis of the program is staffed by other members of Terra Sylvestris and sellected volunteers which also are there to help with the logistics and non administrative issues of the program.We also have a network of consultants that periodically contribute for a variety of issues in the projects that we do both on our own and with the assistance of volunteers.



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. 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