The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon, which is working to activate and expand its volunteer program, is happy to announce the arrival of a new international volunteer, Rodin Baltaci.
Rodin arrived in Lebanon last week and having met the SPNL team, is now doing volunteer work at the Hima reserve of Khorbet Qanafar, a village in the western part of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and now also the site of the country’s first butterfly garden.
Rodin is currently helping Hussein Zorkot, SPNL’s resident expert on butterflies, with gardening tasks and with cultivating plants to attract butterflies to the garden, in addition to painting a wall at the entrance to the butterfly garden. Being there also gives Rodin the opportunity to interact with local people and to practice his Arabic language.
During his stint in Lebanon, Rodin will also be visiting other Hima reserves and hotspots of nature conservation.
Rodin, a German citizen with a Middle Eastern heritage, is a student of theology and of Islamic studies at Germany’s University of Munster and is very interested in Islamic environmental ethics and the approach to conservation within Islamic civilization. Therefore, it felt like a natural step for him to want to learn more about the Hima approach, an ancient conservation system whose revival SPNL has pioneered.
Rodin is providing invaluable support at the butterfly garden and is SPNL is very honored to have him as a volunteer.
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This edition of Al Hima magazine weaves together inspiring stories of nature conservation and community resilience, highlighting how Lebanon is being stitched back to life—one Hima at a time. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) continues its mission to preserve the country’s natural heritage by empowering local communities. A cornerstone of this effort is the BioConnect project, funded by the European Union, which has achieved three national firsts: Lebanon’s first natural park (Upper Matn), first geological park (Shouf-Jezzine), and first endowment Hima (Btekhnay).
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