New Naturweit volunteers in Romania
Article published on 29-03-2021
The National Commission of Romania for UNESCO is happy to announce that spring came also with 3 new Naturweit volunteers, who will spend the next 6 months working on International UNESCO Geoparks in Romania.
In partnership with the German Commission for UNESCO, we launched last autumn in Romania the international volunteering program Naturweit, through which young Germans aged 18 to 26 carry out internships in the natural sciences domain.
Noah Jost (22) just successfully finished a 6 months internship at the “Gavrilă Simion” Eco-Museum Research Institute in Tulcea. The new incomers Laura Krampfert (22), Nora Stahl (24) and Ferdinand Ewerth (19), are hosted by the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of University in Bucharest, which manages the Programme for UNESCO Geoparks in Romania.
Laura will work in Bucharest on issues regarding the 2 new Aspiring Geoparks in Romania, Buzau Land and Oltenia under the Mountain. Nora and Ferdinand will be based in Hateg, activating for the Hateg Country UNESCO International Geopark, the only UNESCO Geopark in Romania at this point.
Let’s hear directly from our new volunteers what their profile, experience, aspirations, hobbies are, as well as what motivated them to come to Romania.
Nora Stahl
My Name is Nora and I will spend the next six months in Hațeg, and work with the Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark. After finishing my Bachelor in Geography last summer, I am now taking a break from the Master to volunteer and do something practical. During my studies in Geography, I have learned a lot about nature, society and how we have an impact on the environment. Now I would like to take action in the form of doing projects here at the Geopark.
While I was studying in Dresden I was part of the University Orchestra, playing the bassoon and organising the concerts as a board member. Besides that, I am also politically active in the climate justice movement.
Being a volunteer has been part of my life for a few years now. Over the summer I usually was part of an international workcamp as a participant, and the last two times as a coordinator. In these workcamps, I was part of a group with people from all over the world and we were working on projects in the communities we were living for the duration of the camp. For example, I took part in building dry stone walls in a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Austria, doing nature conservation work in Australia or building a yurt from natural resources in Germany. So, it was obvious for me to spend a longer time in my life volunteering – and here I am as a Naturweit volunteer in Hațeg.
Here in Romania, I am very interested in learning more about the Geopark and the Geopark Network, get involved in projects with the volunteers from Hațeg, and also experience the nature through hiking, camping or going rock climbing. I am already very impressed by the positive impact the Geopark has on the communities here.
Ferdinand Ewerth
My name is Ferdinand, and I am a Naturweit Volunteer at the “Dinosaur Geopark Hațeg” in Romania. I am 19 years old and have just finished school in summer 2020. In my free time I used to play field hockey and take singing lessons. I also enjoy playing chess and reading, which really helped me get through the pandemic.
Very early I knew that I wanted to take a year off after school, to do all the things I have always wanted to do but never had the time for during school. I have always wanted to work as a volunteer in a foreign country, to dive into another culture, learn a new language, meet different and interesting people and to expand my horizon in general.
During summer, I usually work as a watersport instructor on a German north-sea island called “Amrum”. While I teach windsurfing, some of my colleagues do professional guided tours through the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage site. I had the opportunity to join these tours a couple of times and was fascinated every time by the biodiversity, but also by the importance of such nature sites.
When I then found out about Kulturweit I was therefore especially interested in the Naturweit program and was very excited when I got offered a place at a Romanian Geopark. Besides reading a lot about Romania and the Geopark, I had no realistic idea what to expect when coming to Hațeg.
Now after being here for five days and due to COVID it is difficult to already have concrete expectations about the six months here, but I definitely want to participate in existing projects of the Geopark and if possible, also create a sustainable, lasting project for the Geopark myself. I also want to learn Romanian, connect with the other Romanian volunteers of the Geopark and form lasting friendships.
With my grandfather being a professional magician in his younger years, I also started practicing and performing magic from the age of 13. This passion of mine led me deeper into discovering the psychology behind attention and misdirection, and was the basis for a deeper interest I developed in psychology, human behavior and nonverbal communication.
After my volunteering experience in Romania, I want to study Psychology in the Netherlands. I have already applied at Amsterdam and Groningen and am currently waiting for their responses, fingers crossed!
Laura Krampfert
My name is Laura Krampfert, I am 22 years old and I was born in Oberkirch, Germany. This is a small town in the southern part of Germany that is situated in the Black Forest. There I lived until I graduated from high school. In 2017 I moved to Karlsruhe, Germany and completed my Bachelor’s degree in Radiation Protection in 2020.
During my studies and also after the graduation, I worked for a company that is responsible for dismantling decommissioned nuclear facilities and the conditioning of radioactive waste. In February 2020 I had the opportunity to do an internship at the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Helsinki, Finland. Now I am doing my volunteering work at the UNESCO Global Geoparks Forum in Bucharest, Romania and will stay until August, 2021.
My expectations about the volunteering is to learn a lot about the Romanian geoparks, to visit some of them, to connect with the local people and to find an area of interest where I can play a part in. During my time in Romania, I wish to travel around the country, to get to know the Romanian culture, new places, dishes, music, to get a lot of new ideas and to have fun. Due to my delight in cooking and trying out new recipes, I would like to learn how Romanian dishes are cooked and then to recreate them by myself. Besides cooking, I love playing the piano, reading and doing yoga and meditations. My area of interest is also to educate myself in sustainable living and issues that are related to climate change, like public transport and the food industry.
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