Volunteering for the conservation of biodiversity and the environment in southern Catalonia (Tarragona) EUGEPEC21 Presentation This document is aimed at young people, from 18 to 30 years old, interested in Nature and the environment and Europeans who want to come to the south of Catalonia to volunteer for 9 months, from January 2021 to September 2021, with our environmental NGO www. gepec.cat in the European Solidarity Corps project. One of the places is for young people with fewer opportunities. Our European identification code is E10151432. Our contact person is Susanna Cuadros Göttel (phone +34 676 22 72 77 email [email protected]) and she is the one to whom you have to send your motivation letters and curriculum vitae for later selection. If this is not your case but it is that of someone you know, we would appreciate it if you would send this document to them. Thank you very much in advance. A Mediterranean hug. The Grup d'Estudi i Protecció dels Ecosistemes Catalans-Ecologistes de Catalunya (GEPEC-EdC) was born in 1985 as a result of the union of other small organizations focused on the conservation of biodiversity. The NGO grew territorially in the north of the province of Tarragona until covering the rest of Catalonia’s southern regions, including those that surround the Ebre river. It also grew in themes, incorporating work on energy, climate change, pollution, urban planning, organic production, etc. From the initial 30 members it grew to the current 700. Also, over the years, it moved towards criteria of transparency and overture, started incorporating professionals to the voluntary nucleus that manages the entity, focused bigger efforts on the communication carried out by specialists, let younger membres into the organization (70 kids every year take part in the so-called “Naturalists’ Schools”), etc. The entity's estate consists on the rental of a central office in the city of Reus, occupying another office in Cal Bofill (on Torredembarra beach, where GEPEC- EdC also has access to a warehouse) and classrooms at the naturalists’ schools in Canyadell (Altafulla, with an accommodation for volunteers), Parc del Pinaret (Cambrils) IES Horticultura (Reus), CEIP Sant Llàtzer (Tortosa) and La Ibérica (Roquetes). It also has an 11ha plot of land in Pratdip, as well as custody agreements with both public and private owners for more than 40 plots of land with more than 10,000ha in total, especially in the mountains near the sea. The entity bases its work on the 400 volunteers divided into 16 existing volunteer groups and on the work of 6 full-time professionals, 3 part-time educators from the Naturalists’ Schools, as well as regular but occasional professional collaborations for certain projects or campaigns (lawyers, biologists, educators, etc). Also noteworthy are the alliances established both with other similar organizations (especially in the Xarxa Sud, Ecologistes de Catalunya federations and the Xarxa de Conservació de la Natura) as well as with local public administrations, small and large companies, unions, etc. Although in the early years GEPEC-EdC’s actions focused on conducting environmental education and information, as well as the defense of natural spaces, over time it incorporated work against illegal hunting and pollution (fighting for a cleaner energy that respects the landscape) and for urban planning ecological agricultural production, correct management of water and household waste, etc. In 2019 GEPEC-EdC was awarded the Premi Medi Ambient (Environmental Prize Award) by the regional government (Generalitat de Catalunya), and has enjoyed the trust of entities such as La Caixa Foundation, the Biodiversity Foundation, the European Commission itself (in 2003, for an investigation into the illegal traffic of hazardous waste in Spain), as well as numerous municipalities and public and private entities in these more than 35 years of life. Currently the organization is divided into 5 large areas of work: 1. Projects for the conservation and custody of the territory: This area focuses on the knowledge of the territory and especially its practical application on processes and actions that favor the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development. Examples of this are projects such as the conservation of specific fauna species (such as bats, pollinating insects, birds such as the kentish plover or Bonelli's eagle, and reptiles like the loggerhead sea turtle), owned plots of land (Les Setjoles, Pratdip) or others with agreements with its owners (public or private, up to 40 zones with thousands of hectares). 2. Education, volunteering and activities: The star of the association are the Naturalists’ Schools, an extracurricular activity project aimed at children with 5 locations in 5 municipalities. In parallel, activities are organized on a closed calendar, on demand as ecotourism and also for schools, and are enjoyed by thousands of people every year. 3. Environmental defense: This area is dedicated to monitoring and, where appropriate, reporting projects which could be potentially harmful to biodiversity, the environment and health, safety of people and the economy. In this area we can speak of both pollution processes and habitat destruction. 4. Communication: It is one of the two transversal areas of work, and until recently was carried out exclusively by non-trained volunteers. This area tries to introduce changes in the way the rest of the areas work so that they communicate more with each other, with associated people and supporters, as well as with the rest of society. 5. Administration and management: The legal, administrative, economic and management weight of the rest of the areas falls on this one. Our motivation to host European volunteers GEPEC-EdC is an organization that has relied on volunteers since its inception in 1985 and considers the volunteer as a structural figure in the development of its mission. In this sense, the motivation of the organization for its participation in the CES, the objectives it wants to achieve and the impacts are summarized in three points: 1. Spread the mission and the entity itself beyond its usual dissemination capacity GEPEC-EdC was the host entity for many EVS program volunteers between 2003 and 2017. In 2017, the PROA association that carried out its volunteer management stopped working, and the work of GEPEC-EdC in this regard was reduced. The possibility of participating in the CES is a particularly interesting occasion to recover the rhythm of the metabolism achieved a few years back with the help of these volunteers and thus break boundaries and encourage a greater dissemination of GEPEC-EdC. The participation of an international volunteer in the organization makes it possible to spread the message of the entity to its country of origin, but it is also a very interesting opportunity to highlight the organization's work in its territory, thus facilitating broadening the impact framework of organizing, motivating local volunteers and learning new ways of working and thinking (such was the case with the EVS program). It also allows for the expansion of the work to other fields such as the exchange of information with other organizations from other countries, preparing and participating in international projects and campaigns, etc. 2. Share actions and experiences in favor of sustainable development in collaboration with other experiences and initiatives on a European scale We believe that the participation of a volunteer during a long stay will allow him/her to understand the entity’s structure in detail, as well as its organization, operation of the organization, mission and activities. This should allow the volunteer to, when he/she returns to his country of origin, propose actions or projects that can have a positive impact for the conservation of natural heritage and sustainable development in his/her reality. 3. Encourage the personal growth of the GEPEC-EdC volunteer and professional team with experiences from other territories, fostering greater interrelation with new European realities and strengthening the connection between people and EU territories Through the participation of people from other realities and EU territories we also intend to achieve a growth of our technical team, which allows it to be even more open to a European perspective, while also indirectly impacting the community of which the organization is part as well as the creation of lasting bonds. Project activities and profiles Throughout this project, our purpose is to implement eight types of activities in which to a lesser or greater extent we want all the volunteers to participate: 1. Maintenance of the Canyadell space. 2. Maintenance of Cal Freu and Cal Bofill and opening to the public of Cal Bofill 3. Maintenance of lands in custody. 4. Kentish plover tracking 5. Support for Naturalists’ schools and other activities. 6. Support to technicians and volunteers of projects. 7. Support for local volunteer groups 8. Support for the entity’s communication and administration areas. The number of volunteers that we would like to include in the project is 4. We’re looking for people motivated with the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development, who appreciate environmental values and want to actively learn how to spread awareness about environmental problems and their possible solutions. We are looking for people capable of carrying out practical actions and understand the value of their permanent achievement, who are involved with the organization and are capable of developing teamwork, continuously and with a desire for personal improvement but also for the improvement of the team and the fulfillment of the organization's mission. Committed people, who without receiving a salary during their stay know how to commit and fulfill one hundred percent, who are willing to work from Wednesday to Sunday, who take into account that there will be a wide variety of jobs that include from hard physical jobs in the outside, (cold, heat, rain, mosquitoes ...) to computer or laboratory work.