!Rooted with AIESEC - Sri Lanka Conservation Project!

Diogo Ferreira Start Date: May 1, 2024 - End Date: Sep 4, 2024
  • Sri Lanka

My Travel Story

by: Diogo Ferreira Start Date: May 1, 2024 - End Date: Sep 4, 2024
Help Make My Conservation Dream a Reality

Dear Friends, Family, and Kindred Spirits,

I'm reaching out to you today with a heart full of passion and a vision for a brighter, greener future. From the earliest moments of my life, I've been captivated by the wonder and beauty of the natural world, from the greatest creatures to the smallest they have always filled me with awe and reverence.

My love affair with fauna and flora began at the tender age of six when I would wake up before sunrise to watch National Geographic documentaries, spellbound by the incredible diversity of life on our planet. As I grew older, my fascination only deepened, leading me to devour encyclopedias and scour websites, learning about our wonderful world was never boring.

Recently, my passion for exotics took a tangible form as I welcomed a pair of mistreated lizards and snakes into my home, nurturing them with care and admiration. However, my longing to make a real difference in the conservation world has grown stronger with each passing day. That's why I've set my sights on a journey that promises to be the adventure of a lifetime.

For the last six months, I've been working with AIESEC, a non-profit organization that enables people from all around the world to volunteer or take internships abroad, creating a better world and striving to achieve human potential. It's because of my work with AIESEC that this chance was brought to me by my peers: The chance to embark on a conservation volunteering project, where I'll have the chance to immerse myself in the heart of nature, working tirelessly to protect and preserve the precious ecosystems that sustain life on Earth. From assisting in wildlife rehabilitation efforts to participating in habitat restoration projects, every moment will be a step towards a more sustainable future for generations to come.

My work will start in one of the most biodiverse places on earth: Sri Lanka, but I can't do it alone. As much as I long to make a difference, I need your help to turn this dream into a reality. Your support will not only enable me to cover the costs of travel (I'm working to support accommodation and logistics on my own) but will also serve as a beacon of hope, a reminder that when we come together, we have the power to effect real change in the world. Plane tickets cost around 700 to 800€ one way and I cannot support all of it on my own.

For everyone interested in helping me, I'd love to share some videos of my daily experience with you, share the impact we can have and motivate each and every one of you to take some action to give future generations a chance to fall in love for the beautiful things our world has to offer.

For those interested my activity plans are as follows:

Week 1
Onboarding space with partner representative to understand the context and urgent needs of the area regarding land and local ecosystem pollution.
Preparation of material and workshop session for the following weeks.
Determine method and material for outcome measurement data gathering.
Research / Survey in Rainforest Protector Conserved Forests
Field trip in the area to analyse the degradation of natural habitats and main issues with the local ecosystem and endangered species.
Week 2
Workshop: SDG 15 and the negative impact of natural habitat degradation and loss of biodiversity for the future.
Game: A scavenger hunt to find the signs of degradation in the habitat
Round table: Watching documentaries about ecosystems and debating the topic of what humans can do to prevent ecosystem degradation
Activity: Mapping out the root causes of habitat degradation with community members
Tree Plantation, Gardening Field Visits, Research / Survey on reforestation sites
Introductory session with the beneficiaries, presentation of the volunteers and project objectives.
Week 3
Activity: Create an accountability system in the community for the conservation of nature around them
Participating in workshops/awareness sessions If/when and where necessary.
Workshop: How to take care of the place we're living in (our ecosystem)?
Round table: invite elders from the area/community to share their experiences/stories of how the area looked in the past
Run a local event on the NGO/school to launch the accountability system and strive to have a local representative leader signing the commitment.
Week 4
Workshop: How to protect endangered species?
Activity: Run a challenge/competition among participants to make lifestyle choices that are less harmful to endangered species
Activity: Species ambassadors to protect the endangered species of the area/region
Fieldwork: run activities in animal rescue centres
Week 5
Build a system to measure the impact of initiatives created during the project
Environment Discussions with the team
Activity: Run a fundraising campaign for the protection of a specific endangered species or natural habitat
Create a short film about a species or degradation in the region
Activity: Run a podcast "The Voice of [x]". To give a voice to endangered species.
Week 6
Nature conservation presentation by NGO/conservation group.
Collect data from project beneficiaries (you can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc.)
Analyse data to determine outcome results.
Build final project report and present to AIESEC members and NGO/non-profit representatives.

Thank you all for reading! Thank you for enabling me to achieve a dream and for helping our planet along the way!
  • Sri Lanka

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