My Volunteering Experience: Aurélien Rinaudo

My name is Aurélien Rinaudo, and I am a French student. I completed a European Solidarity Corps (ESC) program for three months, from May to August 2024, in Tamsweg, a small town located in the heart of the Austrian Alps, in the Lungau region. 

Context  

I was with the NGO European Wilderness Society. The project I have learned most about was LIFEstockProtect. This initiative aims to develop measures for protecting livestock. This experience allowed me to understand the situation of wolves in Europe. It was very interesting.

Activities  

In addition to supporting this main project, I also contributed to writing popular science articles and created a personal project. We published an article from Monday to Thursday, four times a week, so I was involved in writing approximately one article per week. I found this experience valuable as it taught me how to write popular science articles, sometimes requiring bibliographic research. I also wrote articles related to my current studies, which I enjoyed greatly. 

Personal Project  

I also had the opportunity to create a personal project. For this project, I decided to study how the return of wolves might impact the agricultural and forestry landscape in Lungau. I chose this topic because I am passionate about working on agricultural landscapes. Understanding how a factor like the return of wolves, which poses many challenges, could impact agriculture and, by extension, the agricultural and forest landscape is fascinating to me. To address this question, it is crucial to understand the current dynamics of the region and why these observations occur. I started by studying the history of agriculture and forestry in Lungau, searching for reports or books describing the history of agriculture in the past, and visiting the field to observe signs of the past, such as forest cabins. I also spoke with people who had experienced the evolution of agriculture. This work was very interesting, especially given my future plans to have an agricultural enterprise.  

I also studied the situation of wolves in France to understand the impacts of their return. Once I grasped their dynamics and impacts in other regions, I developed scenarios about their potential impact returning to Lungau, both on the landscape and its uses. This project was highly enjoyable and was made possible due to the freedom I had in developing it. 

Discovering the region 

The advantage of the structure where I volunteered was that we only spent four days a week in the office (from Monday to Thursday). This allowed me ample time to explore Lungau. I greatly enjoyed settling in a place like this for a few months. It is a somewhat touristy area, and as a tourist, I would never have been able to integrate into local life as I did. Living as a resident for three months was a rewarding experience. I have attended numerous cultural events since May, observed changes in the weather, and saw nature gradually transition into summer with the melting of the snow.  

One of my favorite activities in Lungau was hiking. I already enjoyed running and hiking, as my grandparents have a small chalet in the French Alps. Here, I was able to fully indulge in these activities. At first, there was still occasional snow on the high peaks, making the landscapes magical. A week after my arrival, I set out to explore. Without a car, I started my hikes from Tamsweg, which made my outings quite lengthy. I had put a map on the wall and used it to find my routes.  

My first major hike was around Preber, a mountain with a magnificent view featuring remnants of winter snow and recent snowfalls. Being there during this season allowed me to enjoy the mountain alone, which I love because it provides a sense of wilderness. I remember seeing a pair of rock ptarmigans (wild partridges living in the mountains) on that ridge. The early flowers were also stunning. 

Visits and Encounters  

Subsequently, I continued to hike, with each trail being as beautiful as the last, throughout my volunteering period. I also visited Vienna for a weekend. It is a magnificent city where I could discover its history and culture. I visited the city’s palaces, the Belvedere Museum with its extensive collection of paintings, and attended the opera, which was a fantastic opportunity to explore the city of Beethoven and Mozart. 

However, my life in Austria was not only about museum visits and hiking; it was also rich in encounters. I met Lika and Maureen, volunteers for the European Wilderness Society.  Lika’s introduction to Georgian cuisine was incredible. 

I also spent a lot of time with my colleagues: Kamila, Lisa, and Iryna, from Italy, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Georgia, and the Netherlands. This cultural diversity was very enriching, and I was able to learn a bit about each of these countries. 

I also had the chance to meet some locals, including a family of farmers with whom I spent quite a bit of time by helping them in particular with some activities on the farm. This allowed me to experience Austrian culture not only through cultural events in Lungau but also within a family setting. 

All these encounters also helped me improve my English and German, as no one spoke French here. This was one of the reasons I came to Austria, and I am very pleased with the outcome. It is also the best way to learn a foreign language. 

Conclusion  

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this European Solidarity Corps program. The volunteering I did was fulfilling, but it was the discovery of Austria, and particularly Lungau, that was the most rewarding. Living in a country I had never visited and staying there for several months, rather than just being a tourist, was a superb experience. Immersion in a foreign country for several months was something I had always wanted to do. If I were to highlight one aspect of this experience, it would be the encounters I had. My colleagues, housemates, and Lungau residents were very welcoming. This is the main reason I would recommend this experience, as it offers something you don’t find when traveling as a tourist, where you don’t stay long enough to fully integrate into the local life.