I couldn´t say no to this talgud since I´m passionated about the topic of the biological invasions. In this time, we went for a short camp to Karula National Park with the porpuse of removing the Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) invasive plant on two little areas.

So, here is my “top 5” list of this time:

  • A female team: “Sororidad”. I´m using here the beautiful Spanish word for “sisterhood feeling”. So, a group of great women working, cooking, singing, hiking and relaxing together. I truly believe that I saw a bit of the Estonian women powerful spirit here :)
  • Coming back to my topic of people´s perspectives about invasive plants. I noticed that some of the volunteers thought that it was a bit of shame to remove this specie due to its beautiful pink flowers. This is always a challenging detail. How far are we capable to make a balance between biodiversity protection and human feelings? So, still a lot of science communication and environmental education is needed here.
  • Beautiful lakes all around. Or was it the same great lake all the time? I really missed the orientation at some point, but it was such a beautiful place!
  • Red fruits everywhere. Yes, here my happiest moment. Just picking all these delicious blueberries in the forest and filling my hat with them :)
  • Smoke sauna. I was soooo waiting for it! This is a very traditional type of sauna of the Southern of Estonia. I won´t forget the great heat inside, the characteristic smell of the wood and how all the stress of your muscles just go away. I also have to say that I felt as a smoked fish until the following day. It was totally unique experience!


Aitäh! See you in the next talgud!