Irina says 

"Saying it was a life changing experience would be to underestimate it. My volunteering with IOSSRP, for the past half a year, was a soul elevating learning opportunity throughout. The desire to join a (wild)life conservation project brought me to Scilly, this and its paradise- like location and now, at the end of my stay here, I cannot be more grateful for what I learnt on these isles.

My journey with IOSSRP was about gaining faith in my dream of becoming an environmental teacher. It was about witnessing people working hard for a cause they relate to. It was about having an awesome manager who both leads and cheerleads IOSSRP to perfect performance.  It was about having my soul smile when I saw a trio of Great Black-Backed Gull chicks playing on St Agnes or when a fluffy Manx Shearwater chick on Gugh (there only because IOSSRP successfully keeps the island rat free) tried to climb on my foot. It was about learning about wildlife and nature conservation in UK and abroad. It was about realising that children do enjoy listening when I tell them about nature and that tourists would invest their holiday time in volunteering for a conservation project, if given the chance. It was about bonding with amazing people, of different life backgrounds, but with this one passion that sings to my heart: nature conservation.

I take with me all the memories I made, the inspiration that filled by heart, the lessons learnt and I will build upon them. For now, I feel blessed for finally gathering the nerve to focus professionally on what my soul longs for. And so I move on, honoured to have been a volunteer within IOSSRP, further guided by the fact that each action, no matter how small one might perceive it, counts when it comes to giving nature (back) a home.

Irina Mereniuc, Republic of Moldova

03.11.2015