Work

Highlights: Group feeling in the middle of the forest! Active for future- help to plant trees Are you a nature lover? Then this is the perfect workcamp for you! Here you will have the opportunity to spend 2 weeks working and living in the forest. Your main task will be to plant trees as part of an active contribution to conservation! You will also be helping out with several other conservation tasks, such as forest maintenance, constructing and repairing protective fences, and preserving the biotopes in the area. By working on these activities, you will also learn a lot about the ecosystem of a forest!

Partner

The ijgd has been organising volunteer service programmes since 1949. We are an independent, non-profit association for international youth work, a recognised independent youth welfare organisation, and one of the largest and oldest workcamp organisations in Germany. Each year, we assist around 5,000 young people into volunteer work in Germany and abroad. We give them the opportunity to be creative, act in solidarity, take responsibility for themselves, and discover their own true potential and strengths. Our principles: Ecological learning, voluntary contribution, self-organisation, social development, intercultural learning, gender equality, anti-racism/anti-discrimination and political education Follow us on Instagram ijgd_workcamps Facebook @ijgd.workcamps

Location

Highlight numerous weekend excursions: Frankfurt, Cologne, Mainz and much more. You will be living in a beautiful accommodation building in the middle of the forest, where you can barbecue together in the evening and sit around the campfire. There will be a minibus available for your group, so that you can get to know the beautiful surroundings and drive to local attractions such as the swimming pool, the animal park or the climbing area. You will also be able to take trips to the river Rhine, to Koblenz, to Mainz or to Frankfurt during the camp. The nearest town to your accommodation is Bingen, which also offers several different sights and attractions.

Accomodation

Highlight: comfortable accommodation, You will be living in the leisure centre, which is located in the middle of the forest. Meals are prepared by the house: Breakfast, a warm lunch and in the evening there is a “cold” dinner with bread and sausage, cheese, spread. Please state any intolerances during registration.

Meeting point

Since there is no bus connection to the accommodation, you will be picked up on THURSDAY 9 of APRIL at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the train station in Bingen HBF. For any late arrival you can contact the group leaders, you will get their mobile number 10 days before the Camp starts. Check the website of Deutsche Bahn for the best times and to book your tickets: https://www.bahn.com/en.

Notes:

Interest in working in the nature! You will receive more detailed information after confirming your registration and at least 3 weeks before the start of the camp with the specific info sheet for your camp.

Work

Would you like to help children and young people have an unforgettable summer and get to know the Baltic Sea beach at the same time? Then help out with our spring cleaning at Brunswick’s children and youth camping site on the Lenster beach in Groemitz. Together with other young people from all over the world you support the staff of the campsite during various seasonal preparatory repairs on the entire site. Together you will repair or rebuild playgrounds and sports fields as well as barbecue and campfire areas, carry out painting, painting and basic cleaning work, carry out various site maintenance work (gardening and earthworks), repair bicycles and equip tents with beds, mattresses, lamps and other items. (Note: The actual work to be carried out may differ from that described here). In the first week you will work from Tuesday 14th of April to Friday 17th of April, in the second week from Monday 20th of April to Friday 25th of April. Your daily working hours are from 9am to 4pm with a lunch break. As you live and work directly on the campsite, you don’t have to spend time to travel to work. You will be living in basic 4-bed rooms in the main building of the campsite, which is located just a few metres away from the sandy beach. Information about the campsite can be found at https://www.braunschweig.de/zeltplatz-lenste and at the bottom of https://www.braunschweig.de/zeltplatz-lenste/zeltplatz.php there is also a short film (unfortunately also only in German) about the campsite.

Partner

Children's and youth campsite of the city of Braunschweig The campsite at Lenster Strand in Grömitz on the Baltic Sea is mainly used for recreation by children and young people from Brunswick, but can also be used by other groups and families. It is primarily aimed at children and young people from lower-income families and thus makes an important contribution to their recreation and relief. The ijgd has been organising volunteer service programmes since 1949. We are an independent, non-profit association for international youth work, a recognised independent youth welfare organisation, and one of the largest and oldest workcamp organisations in Germany. Each year, we assist around 5,000 young people into volunteer work in Germany and abroad. We give them the opportunity to be creative, act in solidarity, take responsibility for themselves, and discover their own true potential and strengths. Our principles: Ecological learning, voluntary contribution, self-organisation, social development, intercultural learning, gender equality, anti-racism/anti-discrimination and political education. Follow us on Instagram ijgd_workcamps Facebook @ijgd.workcamps

Location

The children and youth campsite is just a few metres away from the beautiful Baltic Sea beach. In April it will probably still be too cold to go swimming, but there will be some bicycles available for you, so you can go on bike rides in a smaller group on the embankments along the Baltic coast! There is a wide range of free-time activities available for you on the huge outdoor area of the campsite: several football pitches, a beach volleyball court, a beach football court, a beach handball court, a street basketball court, a huge bouncy castle, a zip-line, several table tennis tables and a gorund chess. In the evening, you can relax and unwind in the team room or around the campfire. On the free weekend, it’s also worth taking a trip to Hamburg (100km away) and Lübeck (50km away).

Accomodation

You will be sleeping in 4-bed rooms in the main building of a child and youth camping site. Monday to Friday you will be fully catered for (vegan, halal and kosher are not possible). On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays you cater for yourself. Money for shopping on these days will be provided. Please state any intolerances during registration.

Requirements

You should be fit enough for physically demanding work and you should be able to ride a bike.

Meeting point

Meeting point and time: at the accommodation on Sunday 12th of April between 3 and 8 p.m. Directions to Meeting Point: From Hamburg airport take S-Bahn S1 (direction Wedel or Hamburg-Blankenese) to Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Hamburg main train station, about 24 min travel time). The S1 is running every 10min. At Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Hamburg main train station) take (at least at 5:06pm) the train RE8 in direction Lübeck Hbf. or Lübeck-Travemünde Strand and get off at the station Lübeck Hauptbahnhof (main train station) (travel time 46min). The train is running at 11:06 am, 1:06 pm, 3:06 pm and 5:06 pm. At Lübeck Hauptbahnhof (main train station) change to train RB85 in direction Neustadt (Holst) and get off at the last station Neustadt(Holst) (travel time 38min). From Neustadt Bahnhof/ZOB take Bus 550 in direction of „Grube (Holst) Friedhof“. Get off at the bus stop “(Grömitz) Lensterstrand Zwergenweg” (travel time 32min). From the bus stop “(Grömitz) Lensterstrand Zwergenweg” walk 350m straight to reach the accommodation on the left side. More information about train connections at www.bahn.com and about bus connections at https://www.nah.sh/en/. .

Notes:

Please note: There is a special Teenage Fee of 150€ for international volunteers who applied under 18 in this camp.

Work

This year, you will help with the set construction. You will screw, nail, and paint. Smaller props will need to be built, too. Apart from that, your work will also entail doing: • Sawing wood • Assembling wood with a cordless screwdriver • Painting stage elements • Organizing wooden shelving storage • Raking leaves • Collecting waste wood from the forest • Paving bicycle parking area • Sort out props / repair items that need fixing. • Prepare the service area for the season: • Set up tables, chairs, umbrellas, etc. • Prepare the spectator hall There will be a professional work instructor who helps you with all tasks. For sure it is helpful though, if you have a bit of experience in manual/constructional work and have used tools like cordless screwdrivers before.

Partner

Your host will the Open-Air Theatre Heidenheim, the 2nd largest one of its kind in Southern Germany. It is situated on the “castle hill” of the town of Heidenheim an der Brenz, surrounded by forests, and can accommodate up to 1100 spectators. It is run by a non-profit association that also serves as a community center for people of all ages with many services and activities available. The space is managed by the association’s staff, but much of the work is carried out by volunteers who are part of the theater. Every summer, they host around 1,500 spectators every Friday and Saturday for the youth play and the adult play, which together require more than 100 volunteer actors. It is a genuine community effort and a source of pride for both Heidenheim and the theater’s members. They are very excited about hosting again a group of international volunteers. This project is perfect for everyone who is interested in theatres and wants to have a look behind the scenes! Have a look at the Theatre here: www.naturtheater.de

Location

Heidenheim an der Brenz is a town with a bit less than 50.000 inhabitants in the southern region of Baden-Württemberg. The area is rather rural with a beautiful countryside: since it is at the end of the Swabian Albs – a mountain range of about 220km-, there are many hills and forests. Also in the town you will find the Hellenstein Castle, first built on the 12th century, and Wildlife Park with around 100 animals, very close to your project. If you would like to visit a larger town, you may go to Ulm which is only 30km away. Stuttgart and Munich are just about 2 hours by train.

Accomodation

You will be accommodated directly on the project site. Next to the stage, there is a large building that includes administrative offices, a workshop, and a café. You will have one big room to yourselves with beds; everything will be prepared for you, and you can divide the space using fabric privacy screens. Showers and toilets are available in the same building. The kitchen and common area are located in the youth room of the community center. It is a very cozy space with many games available, and the kitchen is fully equipped. Laundry options are available, though limited. Regarding food, you will need to cook for yourselves and take care of all related tasks (grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning afterward).

Meeting point

Directly at the accommodation. The walk from your accommodation to the train station is about 2 km and mostly uphill, so you should plan for around 20 minutes on foot.