Nikolay: Why I joined Oceanry
“My interest in environmental issues, especially aquatic ecosystems, goes back quite a long way. My first job, when I was 16, was at a small public aquarium, where I worked with the team taking care of marine aquariums. Even at that level, it meant learning about ecosystems, water chemistry and how sensitive these systems can be.
My career eventually took me in a completely different direction, but the interest never really went away. At some point I decided that I wanted to use part of my free time for two things: doing something useful for the environment and learning more about a field I genuinely care about.
I was looking for opportunities to volunteer in Finland around the sea and oceans, and that’s how I found Oceanry. The approach felt innovative for me, and I really liked how open the team was to people coming from different professional backgrounds.
Since joining, Oceanry has actually pushed me to learn more. Over the past few months, I’ve taken several university online courses to better understand marine and environmental topics, simply because I wanted to understand more of what we are working with.
I also recently watched David Attenborough’s Ocean, and one moment stayed with me. When asked where he finds hope for the future, he pointed to young people. I found that incredibly motivating.
I’m still very much learning, but now I get to do it alongside a group of people who inspire me and that’s probably what I value most about volunteering with Oceanry.”
-Nikolay
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