ESC: "Empowered by Nature" - short-term group volunteering - 16/04-31/05

The Bird Hospital Foundation was founded in 1999, and it works in the heart of the village of Hortobágy. The Foundation's goal is primarily the veterinarian treatment of protected birds and their release to freedom in nature following their recovery. In order to reach these goals the Bird Hospital Foundation run a Bird Center in Hortobágy, which has many parts, like a saving station, a bird hospital, a visitor’s centre, a training centre and an exhibition also. The Bird Saving Station - which is run by the Foundation- operated since the summer of 2002 has been one of the interesting tourist attractions of Hortobágy. With its establishment the Foundation wish to satisfy the needs of kindergarten-school groups and of professionals, who like animals and nature and wish to get to know the activity of the Foundation. The Bird Center is open to visitors, however, due to hygienic reasons entry into the operation room and into the lab is not recommended. The treated patients can be seen in the flying rooms, but some of the patients are also bothered by the presence of visitors. The exhibition is an exemplary solution to recover needs, which makes all of these possible without bothering the work or the patients. The Bird Hospital is annexed to the Bird Park, where - besides the outdoor voliers - there are other facilities too that help the engagement of the visitors and help the visiting children enjoy nature. These are: natural playground, flying eagle slides, small traditional hill with the flora of the pusta, speaking raven, etc. The main target group both of the foundation is any nature lovers from the age of 1 till 100 all around Hungary and Europe. The foundation regularly offers summer bird saving camps for little kids, family workshops on how to treat and save birds, falcon shows, volunteer/ training opportunities for vets, presentations for professionals, nature related community-building activities for the locals, attention raising activities. In order to reach more and more young people, the Bird Hospital Foundation usually welcomes groups from schools for visits, and several local and international volunteers volunteers also in the Bird Center.