The volunteers I see every week at our Wednesday Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds in Burgas meetings are a passionate bunch. From all walks of life - high school students, pensioners, working professionals, university students, and guests visiting from other environmentally-minded groups in Bulgaria - they are united by their desire to learn more about birds and if possible, have a positive impact in preserving Bulgaria's rich natural heritage. During the summer, tourists would often ask me how Bulgarians felt about nature. Usually, I would tell them that it's probably similar to how people in their own country felt about nature. Some people must not care, because there is trash lining the sea-shores and plastic bag orchards on some stretches of road, but that I was surrounded by volunteers who were actively trying to improve the health of their natural parks and engaged in projects that would encourage population restoration of threatened species. In the year I've lived in Bulgaria, I have gone on bird monitoring trips, attended a week long work-camp to watch summer migration, and participated in several 'volunteer work days' - including creating nest-boxes, re-marking protected area boundaries, and several clean-up days.
Most recently, BSPB joined forces with a couple of other organizations to clean up the protected bay of Ченгене – скеле in honor of the International Day of the Black Sea. Напълниха се над 30 чувала с отпадъци - over thirty bags of waste were filled! We were on Bulgarian TV news and got the peace-filled satisfaction of being able to walk along a pristine Black Seashore that hours before had been covered in plastic and nylon.
The volunteers I see every week at our Wednesday Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds in Burgas meetings are a passionate bunch. From all walks of life - high school students, pensioners, working professionals, university students, and guests visiting from other environmentally-minded groups in Bulgaria - they are united by their desire to learn more about birds and if possible, have a positive impact in preserving Bulgaria's rich natural heritage. During the summer, tourists would often ask me how Bulgarians felt about nature. Usually, I would tell them that it's probably similar to how people in their own country felt about nature. Some people must not care, because there is trash lining the sea-shores and plastic bag orchards on some stretches of road, but that I was surrounded by volunteers who were actively trying to improve the health of their natural parks and engaged in projects that would encourage population restoration of threatened species. In the year I've lived in Bulgaria, I have gone on bird monitoring trips, attended a week long work-camp to watch summer migration, and participated in several 'volunteer work days' - including creating nest-boxes, re-marking protected area boundaries, and several clean-up days. 
Most recently, BSPB joined forces with a couple of other organizations to clean up the protected bay of Ченгене – скеле in honor of the International Day of the Black Sea. Напълниха се над 30 чувала с отпадъци - over thirty bags of waste were filled! We were on Bulgarian TV news and got the peace-filled satisfaction of being able to walk along a pristine Black Seashore that hours before had been covered in plastic and nylon. 
1 comment:
Wow, what a great job you all did! Can you come do my yard next? :P
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