BDRI'S FIELD STATION

The project is based in the beautiful heritage fishing village of Golfo Aranci , on the north-eastern coast of Sardinia (Emerald Coast). Golfo Aranci encompasses the most representative harbour in terms of gillnets and trawlers fishing effort on the north Sardinia. Moreover, the presence of a floating marine fin fish farm has been linked to a change in bottlenose dolphin distribution as a result of high fish density around the floating cages in the farming area.

The name of Golfo Aranci means Gulf of oranges, but in reality Golfo Aranci owes its name to a wrong interpretation of the name " sos aranzos " in Sardinian language, meaning "seeds of Posidonia seagrass stranded along the beaches". The rugged coastline and the small island of Figarolo offer a great variety of natural habitats for wildlife such as animals as mouflon, crows, Adouin's seagulls, cormorants, land turtles, etc. The crystal clear water offers a wide variety of marine fauna much appreciated by tourist, fishers and scuba divers.

The research base is located in the centre of the village of Golfo Aranci (Via Armando Diaz 4) , in a comfortable house very close to a beautiful white sand beach (bring your snorkel and flippers!).

The harbour is as close as a ten-minutes walk, vehicles are not necessary to move around in this small village. Everything (harbour, bank, supermarkets, restaurants, bars, post office, etc.) can be reached by foot within minutes. A small hospital with basic facilities is available in Golfo Aranci. This hospital is 5 minutes walk from the house.

The research base has an 80 square meters open courtyard, and inside a 30square meters dining room with tables, aquariums, computers, microscopes and chairs for readings, discussions and lab research. Moreover it has two bedrooms, one full bathroom, electricity, hot and cold water, and a well-equipped kitchen.

Students and volunteers' room will consist of a combination of bunks and single beds, sleeping up to 5 per room. This room will be not divided by gender. Private rooms for couples are not available. It should be noted that volunteers staying at the research center will be sharing one mixed-gender bathroom. The apartment has a reliable supply of 220-volt electricity with a standard European and US plug. The center has satellite television. Smoking is NOT allowed in the apartment or onboard the research boats.

The research center is Bruno and Andrea's home and they ask that volunteers respect it as such. It is also home of a small dog called Luna and the courtyard is also house of the neighbour's dog called Telemaco.