I am glad to be typing this in front of a computer! Although I have spent the past 10 years sat in front of computer screens daily doing my linear algebra homework or adjusting pension calculations, for once, using a computer actually feels like a break! This is because I have just graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and I am taking a few months to escape from the rushed working life commonly found in Ontario, Canada and exploring around Europe!

I have spent the past few weeks in hostels around England, Scotland and France meeting so many incredible people and I have made it to my current 3 week volunteering stay at La Giraudière. Although I have only been here for a few days, I already feel as though I have learned so much! Below you can see a flawless example of “tree lopping” (a term I learned this week as well). It seems to be similar to pruning a tree but not the exact same. The photo on the right is a picture of the amazingly bright night sky that I took at 3AM the night before! Amazing that the stars even show up on the camera; it was certainly worth the wakeup!

I also so far have poorly attempted to strim the lawns here (had to restart a few times due to my lack of expertise) and have mowed the lawns for a bit as well. More activities can be seen below! I had a fantastic swim in a nearby lake with fellow volunteers Marian and Josephine and have enjoyed the summer heat to the fullest. All of this has been a massive difference from the online internships and co-op positions I have had over the past few years, and I am super grateful to be able to say I still have two more weeks here!

France is major on re-cycling so volunteers are encouraged to recycle when possible. During my stay one project was to clear 25 years of building waste materials which were were either re-used or recycyled.

Preparing metal and plastic to separate them and prepare them for recycling / disposal!

I will have to attempt to cook for everyone tomorrow as well so please please please wish me luck! I will try my hardest to keep my new friends alive but if there are no more blog posts after this, then it most likely will be due to tomorrow’s meals.

James a volunteer from Canada