The challenge
The Cyclades face various environmental challenges, including loss of biodiversity, water scarcity, pollution, and mass-tourism impacts. Volunteers and eco-friendly tourists can play a crucial role in addressing these challenges through their contributions to conservation, sustainable practices, and community engagement.
The solution
Engaging young citizens and eco-friendly tourists in environmental preservation, protection of wildlife, and sustainable water management in the Cyclades can be achieved through various strategies that promote participation, education, and community involvement.
Driven by this need, CPF designed and implemented the “Green Volunteers in the Cyclades”: a program which enables people from all around the world to engage with local communities and offer their time, skills and energy, covering specific local needs, in cooperation with our local champions. At the same time, they familiarise themselves with the cycladic way of life and its unique characteristics. The program mainly focuses on i) wildlife protection and conservation, ii) sustainable waste management, and iii) nature conservation and local identity.
During the program, in 2021, we organized workshops and trainings for young volunteers, connecting them with local organisations and communities. Specific trainings, mainly regarding the development of volunteer policies’ frameworks, were also provided to local organisations, to better prepare for their cooperation with the Green Volunteers. Trained volunteers joined and supported local entities in Syros, Paros and Andros, while members of the local community participated in the trainings, creating new bonds and opportunities for interaction with expats and visitors sharing similar views and values.
In 2023, we hosted a cycle of free thematic live training webinars in English, addressed to expats that have found their home in the Cyclades, to semi-permanent residents, as well as to frequent visitors and lovers of the area. We were able to reach, inspire, train and build the knowledge of green volunteers for local sustainability efforts in the Cyclades. Local entities and experts presented their work and their short term and long term volunteering needs to the participants, as well as citizen science opportunities linked to their conservation work. We hosted an additional webinar on eco-tourism trends and prepared ‘pocket actions’ for positive impact when travelling on the islands, addressed to all visitors. All webinars were recorded and, utilizing a virtual platform, they are available for viewing on demand.
Achievements
Indicative numbers for the live webinar trainings:
- 12 hours of presentations and discussions
- 17 initiatives/experts presented
- 8 islands directly represented
- Over 30 initiatives operating in the Cyclades presented, through maps and videos
- Over 230 registrations
- 40-70 participants took part in each live webinar
Webinars:
The Cyclades Green Volunteers was supported in 2021 and 2023 by the British Embassy of Athens. Many thanks to our local partners (2021): the Andros Research Centre, the Koinsep APANO MERIA of Syros, and the Naxos Wildlife Association , and to the Citizens in Action for offering the organizations’ training for hosting volunteers.