The countdown to Alycat’s Walkabout is in full swing: four months to go! While it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of spending five weeks in one of the most unique places on Earth, it is important to me to keep the mission of this trip at the forefront. At the heart of Alycat’s Walkabout is the desire to help organizations around the world in their efforts to promote the use and protection of our incredible outdoor resources. Over the course of the next few months, I will be highlighting all of the groups we will be working with during the walkabout. We want our followers to know and understand what makes each organization special and why we have chosen to partner with them.
Today, we’re highlighting the incredible work of Conservations Volunteers of Australia. When I started planning my trip, a friend urged me to look into working with Conservation Volunteers. Her daughter had participated in one of their programs a few years before and raved about her experience.
The mission of the Conservation Volunteers of Australia is to “attract and manage volunteers to participate in projects that protect or enhance our environment and heritage.” They believe that a healthy and sustainable environment is possible and encourage everyone from all walks of life to be involved in the management and protection of it. They do this several different ways. The first being promoting volunteerism. Conservation Volunteers organizes a variety of projects year round across the country, spanning from a few hours to a few days. So if you have a day off and wanted to get your hands dirty, you could go to their website and sign up for a project near you. How cool is that?! The second way they promote their mission is through education. This includes living classrooms, cultural exchange programs, and outdoor leadership programs.
When I went to their website, I was blow away by all the projects and ways that they encourage people to get outside and involved. I fired off an email right way explaining what it is I was doing and asking if they would have any needs for a photographer/videographer. Their response was great! They weren’t just excited for me to come aboard, they had put together an entire list of projects. It ranged from highlighting special volunteer projects to education programs.
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to be working with the Conservation Volunteers of Australia. They are a fabulous organization doing fabulous things. You will see quite a bit of them on the blog come November.