1.IBG 02 Peatland protection Kell | 21.04.-04.05.2024 | ENVI | 10 vols

WORK: Active for climate protection and biodiversity – save the peatlands in the Hunsrück area! You will actively contribute to protecting a special peatland called “Weyrichsbruch”. This area was drained more than 150 years ago for forestry use. Peatlands are a valuable and natural Co2 storage as well as an ecological habitat with a high and very specialized biodiversity. For these reasons, in the 1980s it was decided to revitalize a small part of the Weyrichsbruch. Now the regional authorities for nature protection want to revitalise a much bigger part and this is where you can help! Under the supervision of two experienced Park Rangers you will improve the water balance in this peatland in order to renature the bog, and help it to cope better with the consequences of climate change. Some of your tasks will be to undo the drainage of the area by blocking or filling ditches, or by building small wooden barriers. While working, you will be able to discover many rare species which have already returned. The park Rangers will be happy to explain to you the ecological background and the consequences of climate change and they will guide you to discover this special habitat and its species. The Weyrichsbruch is bordering a well-known hiking trail. On that trail, it is possible to take a look inside the bog from a wooden plank path. In addition, various information boards have been placed around the area to convey the ecological background of the Weyrichsbruch and thus contribute to environmental education.

Attention: The work might be physically hard, the wheelbarrow becomes your daily companion and you will get wet and muddy for sure! Please bring hiking boots, rubber boots and suitable working clothes.

ACCOMMODATION: You will stay in the Educational Centre in Kell am See, which is an important place for youth work in the whole area around the city of Trier. This public and non-profit centre offers the opportunity for youth groups, associations and schools to spend some days or weeks here running a seminar or other projects. You will stay in five wooden tepees for max. five persons each. Staying here, among pure nature and with the campfire in the middle of the tepees’ circle is a wonderful experience. You will sleep on mattresses inside the tepees. Close to the tepees, you will have access to your own kitchen including a dish-washer, to a living room and sanitary facilities, all inside the Educational Centre. In your free time you can use the different outdoor facilities of the centre like the campfire and the basketball, football and volleyball fields. Close to the centre, there is also a lake and hiking trails. Please be aware that the tepees have electricity but no heating, so it might be cold at night. The facilities in the centre (kitchen, living room and sanitary facilities) can be heated though. Your group of volunteers will be responsible for grocery shopping and cooking together. The food will be bought with the camp budget and everybody will take turns for cooking, washing the dishes and cleaning. In order to reduce our carbon footprint on the planet, we encourage volunteers to reduce meat and try more sustainable dishes.

LOCATION: The workcamp will take place in Kell am See, a village 30 km from Trier, not far from the border with Luxemburg. The landscape in this area is very beautiful! It is dominated by huge forests, steep hills, small brooks and ponds, rocks and marshes. Only small hamlets interrupt the nature, which makes it a perfect region for plenty of different species but also for hiking. You will really feel different here! The area is well known for cycling, walking and other kinds of outdoor activities. There is a local holiday resort nearby the Education Centre, which offers more than 200 holiday bungalows next to a lake and locals love to come here for cycling (there is a 45 km cycling path on a former railway roadbed) or to spend a nice day outside. The region also offers plenty of historic sites (castles, museums….). In addition, you will have the opportunity to come in contact with local associations, e.g. the local voluntary fire brigade. Since there aren’t many public transportation means available around Kell am See, the number of excursions will be limited. However, you will have the chance to visit the city of Trier with its famous Roman sites, the cathedral and birth place of Karl-Marx.

PROJECT: This workcamp is based on the cooperation between IBG and the regional “Foundation for Nature and environment”. We have been working together since 2016, organising one or two international Workcamps per year in the field of nature protection.

REMARKS: This is a special project for nature lovers and people interested in nature protection work. You will get wet and dirty. Please be prepared that April in the Hunsrück area can either be warm and sunny or quite fresh and rainy.

REQUIREMENTS: Please be aware that ticks can be an issue when you spend a lot of time outdoors in natural areas in Germany – like in this camp. In our General Infosheet you will find suggestions on how you can protect yourself against them. You are also welcome to check whether a vaccination against the tick-borne disease TBE makes sense and is possible in your home country

TRAVEL: Meeting point: You will be picked up from the bus stop in Kell am See. Please inform your campleader about your arrival time on Apr 21st . You can check for connections from anywhere to Kell am See on: www.bahn.com .
Train station: Trier International bus stops: Suitable international bus stops are in Trier, Saarbrucken and Luxembourg.
Most suitable airport (if you really have to take the plane): Luxembourg (LUX)
Koordinaten:
49.6330600
6.8221700

 

2. IBG 01 Forest School Indelhausen – (BW)| 02.03-15.03.2024 | ENVI/EDU | 10-12 vols

WORK: This workcamp is about helping to maintain a beautiful biosphere area while learning about “Waldpädagogik” (forest education)! During two weeks, you will support the forest school “Waldschulheim Indelhausen”, a place of non-formal environmental education for school classes.

This workcamp has two objectives.
–  The first one is to help the foresters with diverse environmental tasks every morning (2,5 to 3h), which will help to protect the surrounding biosphere area.

– The second one is to learn about forest education and contribute to the forest school’s educative programme.

You want to learn how the knowledge about forests is transmitted to young people in Germany? Then this is the perfect workcamp for you! In the mornings you will work outside with the foresters and in the afternoons you will participate in different workshops about themes such as climate change, the forest ecosystem and economy or biodiversity conservation. During your workcamp, there will be a German school class (7th class, so 13 years old) staying at the forest school too. During some activities, you will be in contact with them. If you’re interested, you will have the possibility to co-organise workshops relating to forest education for your group and/or the school class. This is a special project for nature lovers and people interested in learning about nature protection work and how to pass on important knowledge about forests to future generations.

ACCOMMODATION: You will be accommodated in shared rooms (2 to 4 beds) directly in the forest school. There is a dining room, a common room where you can relax or play games, bathroom facilities with shared showers, as well as a gym hall, a volleyball court, table tennis tables and two climbing walls. Meals will be provided by the school, so you don’t have to cook by yourself. The forest school tries its best to serve local and bio food. There will be vegetarian and vegan options but we need to know about your needs in advance! Please inform us of any dietary restrictions or allergies you may have. Lastly, there is little phone reception in the forest school. Wifi is provided but it is quite slow – you will be able to exchange messages but streaming videos will most likely not function.

LOCATION: The “Waldschulheim” is located in the small village of Indelhausen in the middle of a geopark (a single, unified geographical area where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development) and at the southern end of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve “Schwaebische Alb” in southern Germany. This area features diverse mountainous and cultural landscapes, protected ecosystems with rare plants and animals and notable forest, meadow and orchard habitats. The surroundings are perfect for outdoors activities like hiking. It is very rural, and there are many great view-points and various old castle ruins that are worth visiting. Due to this, visiting bigger cities is quite complicated so the free time activities will be mainly done close-by, enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

PROJECT: This project is organised in cooperation with the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve (Biosphärengebiet Schwäbische Alb), which was awarded UNESCO biosphere reserve status in 2009 and the forest school in Indelhausen. The forest school  “Waldschulheim Indelhausen” is a pedagogical institution founded in 1977. The building used to be the village school and now serves 1,000 students and teachers every year as a non-formal learning place on the topic of forest and nature. Groups of students of the grades 7 to 9 of all school types usually stay here for two weeks and participate in different tasks of simple forest work, an educational program about the forest and excursions as well as games, fun and sports. You can take a look at the place here: https://waldschulheim-indelhausen.forstbw.de/. By participating in this workcamp, you are actively supporting biodiversity (UN SDG 15) and help us work against climate change (UN SDG 13).

REQUIREMENTS: Please be aware that ticks can be an issue when you spend a lot of time outdoors in natural areas in Germany – like in this camp. In our General Infosheet you will find suggestions on how you can protect yourself against them. You are also welcome to check whether a vaccination against the tick-borne disease TBE makes sense and is possible in your home country

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Riedlingen
NEXT INTERNATIONAL TRAIN STATION: Stuttgart
NEXT AIRPORTS, in case you really need to fly: Stuttgart (STR)
MEETING POINT AND TIME: Riedlingen train station, in the afternoon (please arrive whenever you can between 1pm and 7pm on, your camp leaders will be there to greet you). You can plan your trip by using the German Railway website: https://www.bahn.com/en

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