The volunteers in Hortobagy introduced the local fauna even to younger generations. February started with a birthday party and exhibition experiences. With the first rays of sun, the preparation for the outdoor activities could be started too.

The spring brought new volunteer teams, just like in the past years, this time also we offered 46 days of team volunteering activities. All of the groups start with a group building and orientation meeting. Spring is always the time for renovations, all of the helping hands are super useful.

As the summer approached us, the media team started practising not only photography but videography too. We had an Advance Planing Visit with our French and German partners to prepare the summer youth exchange. The volunteers of the Bird Hospital helped with the care for the animals, with gardening in the park and also assisted at some surgeries. We keep developing the competencies of our colleagues, so we participated at a training course at our partner in Croatia.

The summer vibes of Debrecen inspired our volunteers too. At the beginning of August we organised an international youth exchange in Hortobágy. The French, German and Hungarian youngsters spent 10 amazing days in the middle of the plains. The media team this time focused on the topic of “sustainability”, which really well matched the focus of the youth exchange. The biggest reward of our volunteers when they can release back to nature the cured wild birds. 

In September every year we have new volunteers joining our team for the Community Communication project, who start with an intensive training about lights, perspectives and technical details. 

At the end of the month we organised the Erasmus+ EU supported training course for youth workers coming from 8 different countries. The Act it Out training course was so successful that the partners indicated they would like be partners in it every year. Hortobágy is famous for the migration of the cranes and in November the village itself is decorated following this theme. The volunteers also took their part in making the house prettier.

The winter weather is doing a lot of damages in the wooden tools of the Bird Hospital, our volunteers did some preventive painting. The media team closed the year with albums on the Christmas fair of Debrecen.