Looking for 2 male volunteers (no matter which nationality, but European or surrounding countries) from March to December 2020 to participate to the 8th edition of project M.A.R.E.

Here we are with a new vacancy for 2 people from different countries to take part to a big project made of 8 volunteers in total (6 of them have been already selected! we have 4 females and 2 males and we wpould like to have balance of genders within the team). M.A.R.E. family is made 45 volunteers from 10 different countries that have reached the project during hte last 7 years of experiences, and we would like to welcome more and more people!!

Background Info

Project MARE is a unique experience in collaboration with PUNTA CAMPANELLA Marine Protected Area, to support marine conservation programs, made of initiatives to reduce human impacts on natural resources.

Volunteers will work to spread awareness about the richness of marine ecosystems, to promote ecotourism, to stop anchoring and pollution, to cleanup beaches and the sea, working side by side with operators of the Marine Protected Area and many local organizations that follow the same path of sustainable development.

During the last 7 years of activities (from 2013 until today) volunteers have participated to many local initiatives, international meetings and conferences, and they have achieved many results in terms of support to the Park and personal training.

This life-changing experience has a powerful input to make people understand what’s the interaction between humans and ecological system, and this helps a lot to understand the direction to take along our lives.

Site Info

Punta Campanella MPA is the most natural site of the famous Sorrento Peninsula, hosting mountains that fall into the sea. Due to its location in Naples region, it is characterized to be a preferred destination for luxury and mass tourism where the majority of beaches have private access. But the Park is also protecting natural paces like Ieranto bay or Crapolla Cove, where there are signs of old civilization that make these natural places still more fascinating and mysterious.

The continuous exploitation of this coastal area led to a need of reinforcement in marine conservancy and the Marine Protect Area (MPA) Punta Campanella was created in 1997. Due to the difficult access by land and its transparent sheltered waters, this area is the perfect spot for boats and yachts to stop and anchor during holiday periods. This constitutes a big threat for marine life, especially Posidonia oceanica and hard substrates communities (made of encrusting sponges and algae – the so called coralligenous community).

Since 1997 the MPA is carrying out many summer initiatives to reduce the impact of mass tourism (between June and September) and let people enjoy the Park in a sustainable way: monitoring, ecotourism and conservation are the key words to have a balances usage of marine resources, and volunteers have a special task to help these operations.

Position offered

We are looking for 2 volunteers, no matter which nationalities they are, but we would like to have 2 more males to complete the team owith 4 females and 4 males. At the moment we have :

2 volunteers from TUNISIA

1 volunteer from LATVIA

2 volunteers from PORTUGAL

1 volunteer from CROATIA (found)

We are looking for people that is able to work with different levels of organization:

• M.A.R.E. team, made of 8 volunteers from different countries, cultures, background + a coordinator + a mentor
• Park team, made of biologists, educators, mariners, divers, parkguards
• Networking with local organisations (Foundations, Associations, Parks, People) that work for the same topics

Volunteers should be open-minded, curious, tolerant with positive attitude and willing to learn. We want to host people with special interest and love for nature, ocean, marine conservation, education, outdoor activities, to involve in a wonderful dream made in an international environment.

Duties:

Volunteers will support the park initiatives with a 30hours/week commitment (6h/day). They will enjoy 2 Weekly free days (not weekend free days during summertime). They will also enjoy 2 monthly free days, to travel across this wonderful country, or just to relax. The work will be done at office (50%) and on the field (50%).

1^st period: TRAINING and ORIENTEERING – After a training period of 3 months (orienteering, Italian language, marine resources, outdoor activities, active communication, park rules, marine conservation), volunteers will jump in the core of summer period.

2^nd period: INTO THE BLUE – Summer time will be a big mess of non-stop engagement in marine activities, during which everybody will be following a different schedule with different free days, to be able to cover all the week. It’s the most intense period and when it will finish, you’ll miss it a lot!

3^rd period: MATURATION – During October, November and December volunteers will slow down activities, and they’ll concentrate more on the evaluation of everything that have been done along summertime. They’ll present the work in many different meetings, from the schools to the conferences, from the local environment to the international meetings.

WORKING INFO

Volunteers will be involved in several activities listed below. They are asked to take part to these initiatives with a positive mood, with active collaboration, using English and Italian languages:

Marine Conservation – to reduce human impacts on nature through: stopping illegal activities, make people aware of the protected marine resources of the Park

Environmental Monitoring – to collect information about abiotic, biotic and human factors in the area of the park

Info & Awareness – to educate people about park rules and threats to marine resources

Outdoor Adventures – to meet nature face to face, and enjoy its power and energy

Beach and sea cleanup – to slow down one of the biggest impacts we have on our oceans

Intercultural Dialogue – to learn about different cultures, tolerance and diversity

Ecotourism Promotion – to spread the issues of open doors to ecocompatible interactions between humans and nature

Support from the project

The project is part of EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY CORPS within the ERASMUS+ program, and it is financed by the Italian National Agency. Thanks to the these funds we can provide to volunteers:

1. Round trip – to come to Massa Lubrense at the beginning of the project, and to return back to the hometown;
2. Accomodation – a shared flat with 7 more people in one of the villages of Massa Lubrense
3. Food Expenses – an amount of 150€ per month is guaranteed to volunteer to cover food expenses
4. Pocket Money – an amount of 150€ per month is guaranteed to volunteers for extra expenses
5. Training – an intensive course of Italian language is provided by the project
6. Orienteering – the first step of the project is to become a local person, trying to orienteer in the town of Massa Lubrense, understanding also the geography of the Peninsula and the province of Naples, in order to be able to leave in a new place.
7. Mentoring – volunteers will have weekly meeting with a mentor to analyze the training process and the problems that volunteers during the working time and the daily life.

If you are interested in this project, you are WELCOME to M.A.R.E. world!!

Check out our fb page and our blog to better understand who we are!

HOW TO APPLY: send a mail to evs.campanella@hotmail.com with your Curriculum VItae and Motivation Letter.

DEADLINE: 21nd of february 2020