Volunteering in the zoo… what thoughts come to your head when you first hear it? Of course, exciting, interesting, unforgettable, and of course – work with animals!
From 5th to 16th of July this year group of volunteers from Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Spain, France and Czech Republic got together to work in Tallinn zoo, but with… green spaces!
For almost 2 weeks we dedicated our time and energy to the work with wonderful people taking care of the gardens in zoo! We were weeding, planting, taking care of flowers, and of course apart from work having lot of fun, exploring Tallinn, getting to know each other and our cultures better and of course getting to know Estonian culture from many different points!
About work.
We were hosted by wonderful Tallinna loomaaed (Tallinn zoo) and, to be more exact, by the gardening section. Tasks we had concerned weeding, dealing with flowers, cleaning up areas and taking care of green areas of the zoo in general. 
Staff of the zoo is really wonderful, they’re helpful and open to new cultures and ready to learn from each other. We felt really supported and cared for!
One of our important parts of working day was lunch – of course 
– and once we were offered to cook something international for the workers of the zoo. We managed to cook great lunch for more than 20 people and it was chicken in Korean sauce from our Korean participant Yu-sen!
All the time we felt like atmosphere in the zoo is very friendly and open. This was 7th workcamp organized there (there’re 1-2 every year). After one of our common lunches our participant from Spain Alejandro said that it felt like a family. And he was completely right!
Of course, during breaks or after work we always had opportunity to walk around the zoo and communicate with animals – one of the perks of working there is having them near all the time
Also during the camp we had opportunity to plant, it was flowers and we did it within common action of all international volunteering organizations this year called “Let’s root for peace”.
And of course, those who work a lot – have a lot of fun as well!
We were hosted by wonderful Pohja-Tallinn noortekeskus and we had opportunity to have lots of activities there – play games, do some sports, enjoy cooking evenings together.
And, on top of everything, we were very lucky to live in Tallinn and enjoy its vibe – we have visited all important places and even more! Apart from Old Town, we explored Rocca-al-mare open air museum, botanical garden (and we even went to the top of TV tower after that), Paaskula bog walking path… For the day off we went to Prangli island not far from Tallinn and enjoyed that day so much – weather was perfect and we got to see more of Estonia and its unique culture!
Also, during our camp European football championship was in full swing and we got to see some most important games all together!
All in all, it was a wonderful camp and we wish to thank everybody involved into this project! We learnt a lot from each other, were useful to local community and supported ideas of intercultural communication and tolerance – that’s why we think that the project was succesful
If you wish to join us in Tallinn zoo workcamp next year, follow our news!
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