Volunteers make the difference: Wolfgang in an interview

Longtime member and volunteer with all his soul

Wolfgang Schmitt has been active for Tropica Verde for a long time. He is a member, was on the board, knows the projects on site in Costa Rica and the association’s affairs in Germany. He has a lot to tell about Tropica Verde!

Wolfgang, what originally motivated you to volunteer at Tropica Verde?

I come from a small town on the River Main on the edge of the Spessart. We were self-sufficient and had large gardens, rabbits and ducks, and our lives were strongly influenced by the seasons. Ever since I was young, I have been fascinated by animals, the forest and nature in general. I could also have imagined a life as a forester. Of course, I’ve missed out on all of that since I’ve been living in the city due to my studies and job. But the longing and the need always remained – to do something against the destruction of nature and for good living conditions for us all, to be active.
My motivation for working with Tropica Verde therefore had very simple reasons:

• Protecting the tropical rainforests,
• Reforestation and species conservation in Costa Rica, which I was very curious about,
• a small, manageable club here in Frankfurt
• and my knowledge of Spanish.

Can you tell us a particularly memorable or funny anecdote from your time at Tropica Verde?

Of course, my three visits to our projects on site in 2011, 2012 and 2014 were memorable, the discussions and contact with our project partners, the attempt to intensify cooperation and solve problems, and of course the experiences in the rainforest, by the sea and on the trips overland.

How has your perspective on the rainforest and its inhabitants changed over the years?

The tropical forests in Costa Rica are true wonders for me in terms of biodiversity of plants and animals, a personal adventure, but above all their irreplaceable contribution to the global climate.
I have learned that protecting them requires a lot of patience, perseverance and time to achieve common goals. The people there are lovely, but they have their own rhythm. In addition, the exemplary environmental protection laws are unfortunately often not consistently enforced by the local state authorities.

What was the most challenging project you worked on at Tropica Verde and what did you learn from it?

One of the biggest challenges for me was my visit to Gandoca in 2012, where the WIDECAST turtle project that we had supported for a long time had collapsed due to irregularities and neither the feuding families nor the local MINAE manager were able to jointly launch a new, serious conservation concept. At the suggestion of Christine Figgener, who was in charge of turtle conservation in Ostional at the time, a community meeting was convened at which I, as a representative of Tropica Verde, together with Andrey, her husband from Gandoca, tried with the tongues of angels to convince people to make a new start together – which didn’t work at the time, but now works well several years later with Christine’s COAST project.

What skills or knowledge have you gained through your volunteer work that have helped you in other areas of your life?

In principle, these are the same skills that I developed on a daily basis during my time as a subject and class teacher at a vocational school, as part of a large team of teachers and as chair of the staff council – as well as the ability to deal constructively with setbacks.
Of course, I have learned a lot about Costa Rica, our projects and the local conditions, and I regularly read “La Nación” on the internet to keep up to date.

Are there certain moments when you are particularly proud of Tropica Verde’s work?

I am proud to have achieved and organized our certification by the DZI right from the start. I am also proud of the new members I have gained and the many contacts I have been able to make for the association and in some cases reactivate – such as the Palmengarten, the Tropica nursery in Kriftel and the zoo. And, of course, to the additional donations I’ve raised through the many talks and interviews.

How do you get people to get involved for the rainforest and the environment?

Many people are committed to the environment and climate protection in a wide variety of organizations, but to be honest, our association has a problem recruiting and retaining volunteers. Volunteers need a fixed area of responsibility that matches their inclinations and skills, they need personal recognition, regular meetings, festivities and exchanges. We urgently need to work on this to become even more successful.

What changes or developments have you experienced in the organization over the years?

Since 1989, we have had our office rent-free in the old administration building of the Palmengarten – a generous support that has accompanied us for a long time. Unfortunately, we had to move out in 2014, but fortunately found a new space in the Ökohaus, which has been our permanent location ever since.

A particular challenge for many years was filling the head of the information office on a permanent basis. Initially, we were only able to offer a half-time position in accordance with the requirements of the DZI donation seal and due to our limited financial resources at the time. A full-time solution would simply not have been financially viable at the time without having to give up important projects. As a result, the position had to be filled every two years or so, which repeatedly entailed extensive training – with varying degrees of success.

However, the frequent staff changes were not only for financial reasons. One colleague left us because she became pregnant, others because they wanted to develop professionally and sometimes it just wasn’t the right fit. So the reasons were many and varied: financial constraints, personal life phases, but also different expectations of those involved.

Fortunately, the volume of donations has improved significantly in recent years. This has enabled us to make the part-time position more attractive – and we very much hope that Ingrith’s experience and reliability will now accompany us in the long term.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about becoming a volunteer?

For me, volunteering means using my skills for the goals and success of an association without pay – right at the beginning in 2010 after my retirement on the association committee, then for 5 years on the board and since then as the person responsible for donations.

My advice to interested parties is to answer the following questions:

• What interests me about Tropica Verde?
• What knowledge and skills can I contribute?
• Which topic do I want to/can I work on independently?
• How much time can I spend on this?

And Wolfgang is right: we need new people on board.

Would you like to become part of our team? Then apply now:

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