Greece

Even if I had the opportunity to work in collaboration with Quinta Ecologica da Moita for only 3 weeks, it was enough to see that QEM is a blooming place, with lots of opportunities for local participation in terms of cultural, environmental, scientific and artistic projects. Personally, I organized a theater improvisation evening in the farm's bamboo forest. The atmosphere and the dynamic of this place is just great! I also participated in a holistic gymnastics session by my colleague and a presentation of a multi-sensory path throughout the farm by another intern. Moreover, I joined meetings about the farm and met other volunteers and workers. All in all, I got the feeling that if you have a creative idea or a personal project you would like to realize in the farm, promoting local participation and activity in the area, the people there are more than willing to discuss and help you develop it. This is why I believe that QEM and its nature have high potentials for evolving into a center of various activities and a meeting point of many professions and nationalities.

Italy

My name is Federica Brognara and I'm an italian student from Politechnic in Turin. Next october I'm finishing my master degree as a teacher in Industrical Production and Technological Innovation Engineering. During the five years fo the course, where I had the opportunity to do a deep study in industrial production sector, I perceved the importace of  fortify the relation between economy, politics and environment. Industry, as we know, is one of the biggest fonts of efficiency, and nobody wants to give up because it creates a lot of positions. Therefore, it is essential to follow the path in sense of a sutainable development: one that satisfy the present needs without involving future generations satisfying their own needs. How can we make people aware in this sense? Through Envionment Education. And this is the reason that brought me here to Aveiro to colaborate with ASPEA in Quinta Ecológica da Moita project. More specifically, I have the goal to show that recycling energies can be our own font of energy, on the opposite of what oil companies want us to believe.

With QEM, we are working in "Recycling Energies Pedagogical Park", that wants to explain to adults and children how solar, eolian, hydraulic and biomass energies work. The park will be compund by a solar distiller, a parabolic motion solar oven, a communal solar oven, a lunar fridge, a biomass shower, a termic solar panel, a solar car and an eolian turbine.
Beyong this project, other parallel project exist, as for example the cleanning of the forest, to turn active Familiar and Communal Horticulture Gardens, to build new installations for environmental education activities and provide with energy to QEM through recycling sources.

There's a lot of work to do, and most of it is done by volunteers and interns as me, so that's why I want to emphasize the availability, good will adn great heart of the people that worked with me in Quinta Ecológica da Moita.

France

I had stayed 3 months in Aspea Aveiro. During this experience I discovered both different people and learned new skills.  I studied engineering but I had to create and manage the "Quinta Ecològica da Moita" website and make a crowdfunding campaign to develop this farm. Even if I had never done this kind of tasks, I had never been alone. This permits to improve your CV with an interesting experience. To conclude, I would like to leave a message to the foreign volunteers : don't worry if you don't speak portuguese, all the people in Aspea speak well english and also french!

France

My name is Flavie, I’m French and I’ve been volunteering in ASPEA-Aveiro over 6 month. Those 6 month were very interesting and have been the opportunity to learn a lot of things. I used to work on the project Quinta Ecologica da Moita, which means to become a very great environmental education center. The Quinta has a great potential. It’s a very beautiful spot, and very interesting, because of its biodiversity, its location, near of city center of Aveiro, and mostly, because of the good people working for the development of the project. This volunteering has been an important experience, from a professional and human point of view. 
Besides having acquired and developed professional skills, I met there beautiful people, involved in the project and doing everything to develop it. I felt instantly integrated in the team and trusted in my ability to be autonomous and responsible. The obstacle of the language existed, I can not deny, but the great communication with the team was ensured by our common capacity to speak english. I am very happy of this experience, and I advise and exhort people to experiment as well a volunteering, in ASPEA. You won’t regret it!

Spain

I'm Aranza, I'm from A Estrada, a village in Galicia. I studied a Medium Level in Cookery and also a Free-time Instructor course. Moreover, I play theatre in the village where I live. I wanted to do a European Volunteering, but I finally came here with a programme from Xunta de Galicia, called Galeuropa. The destination was Aveiro. I was exited, because it was the same association with which I wanted to volunteer.

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I met the people with which I lived for 4 months, 2 girls and 1 guy, the best flatmates I could have. They were always there to help me when if I needed it. Little by little I discovered Aveiro and my mates at work.

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ASPEA, my association, works with topics related with environment and especially to raise awareness about climate change and speak up about alternative energies. They develope playful activities with children. They lead and work in Quinta Ecológica da Moita in order to promote a healthier lifestyle and nutrition.

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I felt very valorized by my tutors, they never cut my wings, they believed in me and my capacity to do the tasks they asked me to work with. I'm very glad to have met them. I met a lot of people from different nationalities. It has been a pleasure to have worked with them. Also, all the people that work at QEM and colaborated and taked care of us. We were good friends! I'm grateful with all that people and I will always remember this beautiful and productive experience.

Spain

I spent four months as an intern in ASPEA, in the media communication area. My work consisted mainly in creating the necessary material to promote the activities related with the maintenance of Quinta Ecológica da Moita (QEM). This Quinta takes place in a 17 ha forest in Aveiro's surroundings, in the middle of the nature, where we can find different places destined to develope environmental education activities.

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Working both in QEM (with Santa Casa da Misericórdia's workers, that helped us diary, and foreign volunteers) and general tasks form ASPEA, I got in contact with an area that I didn't know before: the environmental education. People who work in ASPEA are full of ideas related with this field and they try to sensitize children about the importance of keeping clean our planet and ourselves, with a healthy life and respectful with the environment.

During these months, not only I could develope myself in my area, but also had the chance to work more directly with the nature and enjoy the surroundings of Aveiro, at Quinta Ecológica da Moita.

Spain

My name is Óscar and I made a four month internship in which I was lucky to work with a big variety of collegues. Working with them was great and, even though sometimes we didn't speak the same language, we perfectly understood each other. QEM is a fantastic place for people who like nature, and where you can find an area where to develope your professional skills. Thanks to the quality working at QEM and the co-workers with which, even if sometimes we quarrel, I consider my experience at QEM as very positive at professional and personal levels.