Work

Guardians of Nature is a volunteer project supporting the Santa Bárbara Altea Estiu summer schools—an educational initiative that helps teenagers and local children reconnect with nature and understand the value of their environment. Taking place in the beautiful natural surroundings of Altea, five international volunteers will join a dynamic team to co-create and develop engaging activities and workshops, promoting awareness of local flora, fauna, and sustainable living. Volunteers will work closely with coordinators and campleaders to design and lead morning workshops for local children, while afternoons will be filled with group and summer camp-style activities including excursions, relaxation sessions, and hands-on experiences in natural sciences and rural life. This is a screen-free, nature-centered environment that encourages shared learning, creativity, and coexistence. Volunteers are expected to bring initiative, flexibility, and a spirit of collaboration, as they will play an active role in shaping the experience for themselves and the participants. A good command of English is required, and Spanish or Valencian is a plus. Be prepared for hot summer weather and outdoor conditions.

Partner

A collaboration agreement has been drawn up between Altea Town Hall and the Altaia Higher Education Center and De Amicitia where the students of said institute will participate in this summer camp promoted by De Amicitia association within the framework of international volunteering. This camp is a part of the project "European Youth in Action: policymakers for climate justice", co-funded by the Citizens, Equality. Rights and Values (CERV) programme of the European Commission. "EYA - European Youth in Action" aims at empowering European youth to make their voices heard by the decision makers on climate justice issues, through building of a structured path at European level for the engagement of youth. The project engages young people in expressing their vision on the Europe they want and on climate justice; increase knowledge and awareness on climate justice issues, improve competences in concrete actions for climate justice in three key related issues: energy transition, greenwashing, biodiversity.

Location

Altea La Vella is a district of Altea, a municipality in the province of Alicante (Spain). It has 583 inhabitants (INE 2012). This place of the Marina Baja is located between the sea and the mouintains and was the origin of the current Altea. Its white houses stand out. It is located 3.5km south north of the urban center of Altea, 3 km south of the Sierra de Bernia, 2 km west of the Mediterranean Sea and 9 km from Callosa de Ensarriá.

Accomodation

The facilities of Finca Santa Bárbara have the optimal requirements for carrying out this project, since they are located in a rural enclave, with toilets, showers, children's games area, a picnic area, camping areas for TENTS and a swimming pool. Summer sleeping bag is necessary. The food is provided by our campleaders and the volunteers will be cooking in groups by the guidance of our campleader. Tents will be provided by the organization yet you can bring your own tent if you wish.

Requirements

The extra fee has be paid by card ( in the exceptional cases we can accept bank transfer as well) 3 weeks before the camp as a confirmation of participation. If we don't recieve the fee and the flight/bus tickets of the volunteer, we will consider that she/he will not attending to project and we will give opportunity to other volunteers that are on the waiting list.

Meeting point

The meeting point will be on June 28th in Altea. Volunteers will need to reach the Santa Bárbara facilities by their own means. The exact address and directions will be provided in the Infosheet, and campleaders will be in contact throughout the day to support their arrival and orientation.

Work

In the parish of Louredo in the municipality of Mos, we find this village, Aldea Alfacuca, restored with small and old buildings. These constructions were made around 1670, by Mr. Alonso Blanco. This project aims to help revitalize and recover an old village, providing it with spaces of community interest that can be visited by the neighborhood and where to know aspects of both Mos and our culture and ethnography. INTERVENTION: For this edition, the interventions are based on 3 axes: - "Gardening" rotation: care (pruning, tutoring, renewal of hedgerows...) of the sensory garden and the edible forest planted in 2022. - Rotation of debarking of Acacias: to deepen what started the previous year and continue to free Aldea Alfacuca from the presence of these invasive trees. - Rotation of rehabilitation and conditioning of the village's facilities: providing the existing spaces with greater possibilities by placing decking in the rehabilitated buildings that have a concrete slab on the floor; installation of a bathroom in the cabins that have the installation of plumbing and water; surrounded by buildings that have not been rehabilitated... WORKS FROM OTHER EDICIONS: Edition 2022: https://vimeo.com/753795440

Partner

The General Directorate of Youth (www.xuventude.xunta.es) is a department of the Xunta de Galicia (www.xunta.gal) whose priority is to meet the needs and concerns of the young population living in Galicia, firmly believing that youth has much to contribute to society as a whole. We work to improve the quality of life of young people in our autonomous community, developing actions and programs that benefit them, increase their well-being and allow them to improve their skill.

Location

Mos is a Galician municipality in the province of Pontevedra. In Mos there are abundant archaeological remains that are evidence of an intense occupation of the territory. From the existence of prehistoric settlements documented by the presence of the "Campo de Mámoas" and the Pedra Cabaleira (dolmen with remains of an incipient corridor) there are no more data until the Romanization. At that time, the Roman road that connected Braga (Portugal) with Lugo and Astorga passed through Mos. Leisure: - Mos through history: the Castro de Torroso / Pazo de Mos. - Excursións: Ourense (thermal city), Soutomaior (castle), ... - Workshops. - Rowing in Traineras. The Trainera is a boat typical of the Cantabrian coast, propelled by rowing and sometimes by sailing, formerly dedicated to fishing, but today, with lightening modifications, to the sport of rowing regattas. - Redondela, visit to the San Simón island. Beach.

Accomodation

Accommodation will be in restored houses within the Village.

Meeting point

Meeting point: The first day from 4:00 p.m. in Concello (Municipal House) de Mos in R/Reguengo, s/n - 36415 Mos. The easiest way to get to Mos is through Vigo, by road, train (www.renfe.es) or by plane. From Santiago de Compostela to Vigo: by train: www.renfe.es or by bus: www.monbus.com. From Vigo to Mos, it can only be reached by road with the company www.monbus.com. The bus line that connects the airports of Peinador (Vigo) and Lavacolla (Santiago de Compostela) with their bus and train stations are www.vitrasa.es and www.tussa.org respectively.

Notes:

The incorporation to the work camp is in the afternoon of the first day and the departure the last day after breakfast. RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: • Toiletry bag and shower towel. • Sleeping bag and small backpack. • Mountain shoes and sports shoes. • Clothing: sportswear (sweatshirts...), warm clothing (suitable for working in the rain or cold weather), waterproof coat, work clothes (gloves, cap/hat, comfortable shoes,...).

Work

Main activities: Recovery of the historical and natural heritage of the Sierra Nevada Natural Park through: - Recovery of walls (ribazos or balates) of cultivation terraces with the dry stone technique. - Recovery of a quadrangular threshing floor (of special singularity). of large dimensions. - Continuation of new threshing floor for socio-educational activities started in 2019. - Stabilisation of areas eroded by torrential climatic events that cause loss of soil both in quality and quantity. - Initiation of work on miniature dry stone villages with the National School of Dry Stone. - Recreation of cereal threshing. Complementary activities: - Interpreted routes to farmhouses built in dry stone in the surrounding area (Avispero, Haza Mocha, Lotrines,...) to evaluate the technique in Abrucena. - Training actions for the enhancement of bio-construction techniques and natural resources, linked to knowledge of the geological and biological heritage of the surrounding area, in order to qualify participants for professional development in the field of dry stone, in collaboration with the National School of Dry Stone, in Abrucena and Fiñana. - Workshops on the construction of miniature shepherds' huts, in Abrucena. - Knowledge of traditional work and activities linked to the natural heritage of the Sierra Nevada and the valley of the river Nacimiento. - Workshops on climate emergency and the hoaxes about it and the SDGs, in Abrucena. - Visit to the archaeological site of ‘Los Milanes’ and ‘Las Juntas’, in Abla (Almeria), contemporary of the Millares culture and which shows the use of the construction technique for 5,000 years.

Partner

Andalusian Youth Institute. SVI-AN

Location

The Youth Volunteering Camp will take place in the surroundings of the Aula de Naturaleza ‘Paredes’, located on the north side of the Sierra Nevada National and Natural Park, in Abrucena (Almería), at an altitude of more than 1350 metres with spectacular views of the valley of the river Nacimiento. The landscape surrounding this centre is of great natural diversity and is internationally renowned. This area is characterised by former terraced cultivated plots that were reforested with pine trees, creating one of the main forests in southern Europe. The classroom building was built in stone (schist and quartz), respecting local traditions. Abrucena is a small municipality located in the west of the province of Almeria, in the corridor between the Sierra de Baza and Sierra Nevada, being included in the Sierra Nevada National and Natural Park, one of the natural paradises of Andalusia for its rich landscape, botanical, faunal and anthropological wealth. The village, situated at the foot of the sierra, offers the typical image of the villages of Arabic origin, with narrow, winding streets with whitewashed houses built one next to the other with flat roofs. Recreational, leisure and socio-cultural activities: - Interpretative-ecotourism routes in Sierra Nevada (on foot, by bike and on horseback). - Environmental awareness-raising activities. - Environmental education workshops. - Multi-adventure activities (archery, orienteering, etc.). - Astronomy and night sky interpretation workshops. - Visit to the UNESCO World Geopark - Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park. - Visit to the Karst de Yesos de Sorbas Natural Park. - Themed evenings (cinema, role-playing games, debates, ...). - Water games, swimming pool and sports activities. - Heritage visits to the villages of the association and their public facilities (Fiñana Heritage Route, Natural Environment Interpretation Centre, ...).

Accomodation

Aula de Naturaleza Paredes (Cortijo de Paredes, S/N). Road AL-3404 (ABLA-OHANES), KM.20, C. P. 04520, Abrucena (ALMERÍA). Equipment for Public Use of the Sierra Nevada National and Natural Park. GPS coordinates: Latitude: 37.1098 Longitude: -2.7814 The food service (breakfast, lunch, lunch, snack and dinner) will take place in the dinner) will take place in the Aula de Naturaleza de Paredes, which has a dining room for 56 people. dining room with capacity for 56 people. This dining room is registered in the sanitary register as an institutional dining room within the environmental education equipment. The diet will be based on a healthy and balanced Mediterranean diet, with local foods healthy and balanced Mediterranean diet, with local and zero kilometre food, offering a variety of foods food variety within the menu that can satisfy religious or life choices (Halal, Halal religious or lifestyle choices (Halal, Kosher or vegetarian), as well as, food intolerances or food intolerances or allergies that by regulation can be satisfied (celiac, lactose intolerance, lactose intolerance, etc.). (celiac disease, lactose, milk, molluscs, etc.). The catering service will be provided by qualified staff who work in the Aula working in the facilities of the Aula de Naturaleza de Paredes.

Requirements

Required to bring: Mandatory: D.N.I. or identification document, health card, European health card or document proving health coverage. Failure to present the above documents upon arrival may result in the non-acceptance of the volunteer in the camp. Essential: Field boots, headlamp or flashlight, cap, comfortable field clothes, a sweatshirt or coat for the evenings, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, pool towels and swimwear. IF YOU FOLLOW ANY TREATMENT, DO NOT FORGET YOUR MEDICATIONS. Advisable: Flip-flops and booties or water shoes. Optional: Binoculars and camera.

Meeting point

- By own vehicle, from Almería to Granada (A92), exit 341, and from Granada to Almería (A92), exit 336. Then: Road AL-3404. Abla-Ohanes. Km. 20. Signposted detour to the right and approximately 3 km. of passable dirt road (follow signs).

Notes:

The Aula Naturaleza de Paredes is adapted for people with motor functional diversity, although it does not have specific adaptations for hearing or visual diversity.

Work

The Festival da Luz (festival promoted by the well-known singer Luz Casal, a native of the town of Boimorto), which has been held in Boimorto since 2012 for solidarity purposes. The main activity of this workcamp will consist of collaborating in the organization and launch of the charity music festival through different volunteer actions such as: • Help in the organization in the days leading up to the festival. • Collaborate in the assembly and distribution of the different areas of the venue where it is held. • Participate in the various tasks carried out during the festival, including distribution of wristbands, accommodation, attention to the public at the information stands, collaboration in the children's area.... • Carry out different information and stimulation activities designed and proposed by the volunteers themselves.

Partner

The General Directorate of Youth (www.xuventude.xunta.es) is a department of the Xunta de Galicia (www.xunta.gal) whose priority is to meet the needs and concerns of the young population living in Galicia, firmly believing that youth has much to contribute to society as a whole. We work to improve the quality of life of young people in our autonomous community, developing actions and programs that benefit them, increase their well-being and allow them to improve their skill.

Location

Boimorto Municipality is located in the southeast of the province of A Coruña. It is located in the center of the imaginary triangle formed by the three great cities of northern Galicia: Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña and Lugo. It is also a crossing point for the Camino Norte de Santiago. Leisure activities: • Visit Santiago de Compostela and A Coruña cities. • Battle of archers: Game in which two teams of archers will face each other, putting their aim to the test. • Cultivation of shiitake in chestnut and oak wood, and we will make a small trunk so that each person can easily obtain mushrooms based on humidity and sun. • Ponte do Castro Recreational Area, river beach. • Galician traditional music (Foliada). • Astronomical Observation. • We will visit the Cistercian Mosteiro of Santa María de Sobrado and the Lagoa. We will do the Ruta da Carballeira, filming location for the movie El Bosque Animated, by film director José Luis Cuerda. • Route of Megalitos de Toques. • Workshops.

Accomodation

Albergue Xuvenil Garatuxa. https://avada.gal/Albergue-Xuvenil-Garatuxa/gl/

Meeting point

The incorporation to the work camp is in the afternoon of the first day and the departure the last day after breakfast. Meeting point: Curtis-Teixeiro train station. From Santiago de Compostela to Curtis-Teixeiro: www.arriva.gal and www.monbus.es From A Coruña to Curtis-Teixeiro, the best option is in train www.renfe.es. The Teixeiro-Curtis station connects daily with medium-distance trains to A Coruña and Lugo as well as long-distance trains to Madrid and Barcelona. RENFE (www.renfe.es). The bus line that connects the airports of Alvedro (A Coruña) and Lavacolla (Santiago de Compostela) with their bus and train stations are www.autoscalpita.com and www.tussa.org respectively.

Notes:

The incorporation to the work camp is in the afternoon of the first day and the departure the last day after breakfast. RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: • Cleaning supplies (complete toiletry bag) and shower towel. • Sleeping bag, mat and backpack for routes. • Comfortable shoes for mountain and sports shoes. • Clothes: sportswear (sweatshirts...), swimwear (swimsuit, towel, flip-flops...), warm clothing (suitable clothing to be able to do the job in case of rain or cold), work clothes (gloves, hat)

Work

- Work on the improvement and enhancement of the Castro Friulio, and help in the restoration and consolidation of various structures (roofs of the pallozas, kilns ...). - Active participation in the organization and execution of the "IV Malla" in Castro Friulio, an event that took place for the first time in 2021, coinciding with the first edition of this Work Camp. It is about recovering the tradition of the wheat mesh, which was much more than the sifting of cereals. LA MALLA, what is?: Before the harvesting machines did everything: mowing, extracting the grain, packing the straw,... it was done manually. One of the most important cooperative works in rural agriculture was LA MALLA. This communion between all the neighbours, uniting effort and sweat,... takes the step of becoming an almost extinct secular tradition in a good part of our Galicia. - Planting of a forest of native trees and fruit trees along the Narla river promenade to the town. Video 2022 edition: https://vimeo.com/751785439 Video 2023 edition: https://vimeo.com/856027217

Partner

The General Directorate of Youth (www.xuventude.xunta.es) is a department of the Xunta de Galicia (www.xunta.gal) whose priority is to meet the needs and concerns of the young population living in Galicia, firmly believing that youth has much to contribute to society as a whole. We work to improve the quality of life of young people in our autonomous community, developing actions and programs that benefit them, increase their well-being and allow them to improve their skill.

Location

Friol is a municipality in the province of Lugo, in Galicia. Located just 30km from the capital of Lugo. In Friol, important megalithic and castreño vestiges are preserved, among others, the best known being the fortress of San Paio de Narla. This land was also occupied by Romans and Visigoths. Leisure activities: - Basketry, Bread and Cheese workshops in the town of Castrejo, with dyed T-shirts. - Construction of a palloza (It is a traditional construction of the Lugo mountain, of pre-Roman origin. Circular or oval, between ten and twenty meters in diameter. With low stone walls and covered by a conical vegetable roof). - Domestic percussion: traditional music and dance. - Excursions: to the Fortress of Narla (Friol), to Lugo (Roman wall, cathedral and Domus do Mitreo), to Sobrado dos Monxes (monastery, lagoon and route of A Carballeira and Roman Camp of A Ciadella), Catedrais beach (Ribadeo). - Castrexas and Roman evenings. - Visit to an organic farm.

Accomodation

The participants in the work camp will stay in the Old Municipal School, located next to the municipal house.

Requirements

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: • Cleaning supplies and shower towel. • Sleeping bag, mat and backpack for routes. • Comfortable shoes for mountain and sports shoes. • Clothing: sportswear (sweatshirts...), swimwear (swimsuit, towel, flip-flops...), warm clothing (suitable clothing to be able to do the job in case of rain or cold), water (rain jacket), work (gloves hat)

Meeting point

The meeting point is at the municipal house of Friol: Praza de España, 4. CP 27220 Friol. From Santiago to Lugo: www.monbus.es. From A Coruña to Lugo: www.arriva.gal or www.alsa.es or by train www.renfe.es. From Lugo to Friol: www.arriva.gal. The bus lines that connect the airports of Alvedro (A Coruña) and Lavacolla (Santiago de Compostela) with their bus and train stations are www.autoscalpita.com, and www.tussa.org respectively.

Notes:

The incorporation to the work camp is in the afternoon of the first day and the departure the last day after breakfast. It is necessary to bring: • Cleaning supplies. • Sleeping bag and small backpack. • Mountain shoes, footwear and sportswear: swimsuit, bathing shoes, warm clothes, work clothes (gloves, cap / hat, ...).

Work

In this work camp located in the Xurés Natural Park, work will be done on environmental conservation and the promotion of biodiversity, as well as the fusion of culture and nature through the following tasks that we will carry out: - Cleaning and rehabilitation of the Muiños da Torrente hiking trail. - Renovation of the forest park Outeiro de Cela where the letters MUIÑOS NATUREZA VIVA will be painted and revision of the signage throughout the park (arboretum, duck pond signage...) - Intervention at the Touristic-Sports Complex O Corgo to signal the itineraries that depart from there. - Environmental awareness talks. - Construction of shelters and feeders for birds and placement in areas affected by forest fires to recover birdlife. - Construction of shelters for pollinating insects with old pallets and natural and waste materials with the intention of improving biodiversity around the burned areas.

Partner

The General Directorate of Youth, Participation and Volunteering (www.xuventude.xunta.es) is a department of the Xunta de Galicia (www.xunta.gal) whose priority is to meet the needs and concerns of the young population living in Galicia, firmly believing that youth has much to contribute to society as a whole. We work to improve the quality of life of young people in our autonomous community, developing actions and programs that benefit them, increase their well-being and allow them to improve their skill.

Location

Muíños is a municipality in the south of the province of Ourense located in the Baixa Limia region, right on the border with Portugal. The Baixa Limia-Serra do Xurés natural park begins in Ourense and when it crosses the line that separates it from Portugal it becomes the Peneda-Gerés Park. A world of large trees, wolves, roe deer and wild horses that 2,000 years ago was crossed from north to south by the Via Nova built by the Romans to link Astorga and Braga. Wonders such as the Fervenza (waterfall) da Data or surprising villages such as Casolas, built on land with a twenty percent slope. And also, unexpected findings such as the cachenas cows, a small breed with enormous horns. Leisure: • Nautical activities. • Sighting of nocturnal fauna • Geocaching through the Nature Reserve • Recognition of mountain fauna and flora. • Observation of forest ecosystems and landscape interpretation. • Activities to identify fauna tracks and signs. • Environmental, ethnographic and interpretive routes through the natural park and the surrounding towns. • Environmental and recycling workshops. • Video-forum. • Role playing games • Baths in the Maus de Baños hot springs. • Visit to Allariz (ANDREA association donkeys, leather museum, O Rexo environmental center, biosphere reserve market, leisure and bathing in Allariz) • Cultural and leisure visit to the city of Ourense and its hot springs.

Accomodation

The participants will eat and stay at the O Corgo Complex in Muíños (Ourense). http://www.concellomuinos.com/o-corgo

Meeting point

Throughout the first day from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the O Corgo complex in Muíños (http://www.concellomuinos.com/o-corgo). The bus line that connects the airports of Peinador (Vigo) and Lavacolla (Santiago de Compostela) with their bus and train stations are www.vitrasa.es and www.tussa.org respectively. From Santiago de Compostela or from Vigo to Ourense: www.monbus.com or www.renfe.es From Ourense to Muiños you can do it by road on the buses of www.anpian.com Another way to get to Muiños is by Xinzo da Limia. To get to Xinzo de Limia you can go by road with www.avanzabus.com. By train (www.renfe.es) to A Gudiña and from there to Xinzo with the company www.monbus.es From Xinzo da Limia to Muiños, by bus with www.anpian.com.

Notes:

Notes: The incorporation to the work camp is in the afternoon of the first day and the departure the last day after breakfast. It is advisable to bring: • Sleeping bag and mat. • Swimsuit, slippers and bath and shower towel. • Sun hat and sunscreen. • Small backpack for routes. • Comfortable and waterproof footwear. • Warm clothing. • Rain gear. • Work clothing and footwear.

Work

The work camp will try to enhance O Grove through the following centers of interest: - Cleaning the extraction of invasive species. - Recovery of various structures in the Contorna dos Burros Fariñeiros, the Grovit Village and for ornithological observation in addition to maintenance tasks in the bird observatories and the infrastructures dedicated to the enhancement and protection of the heritage of these places. Deteriorated timbers will be replaced. - Improvements will be made to a viewpoint on Toxa Island as well as the sanding and varnishing of surfaces to conserve resources. - Parallel to these works, awareness and information tasks will be carried out "on the beach" or in the transit areas about the work that the volunteers are doing, trying to raise awareness among the local population and visitors about the importance of their tasks and to disseminate other existing environmental projects in the area (eg: Pío Project) and fauna and flora recovery programs (eg: Píllara das dunas recovery project).

Partner

The General Directorate of Youth, Participation and Volunteering (www.xuventude.xunta.es) is a department of the Xunta de Galicia (www.xunta.gal) whose priority is to meet the needs and concerns of the young population living in Galicia, firmly believing that youth has much to contribute to society as a whole. We work to improve the quality of life of young people in our autonomous community, developing actions and programs that benefit them, increase their well-being and allow them to improve their skill.

Location

This work camp`is located in O Grove, a municipality in the province of Pontevedra. O Grove is considered the jewel of O Salnés. This municipality is located in the influenza zone of the National Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia and within the Umia-O Grove Intertidal Complex, in addition to having several points recognized as ZEPA and RAMSAR zones of special protection for birds because it is a stopover zone in European and Euro-African migrations. As an area with special tourist demand, for several decades it has been threatened by a large number of invasive species that, in many cases, arrived as ornaments and that now threaten the marine, fish, avian and forest ecosystems. COMPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES: • Discover O Grove. • Snorkel, Canoe and bodyboard. • Construction of bivouacs. • Hiking. • Intercultural Day. • Visit to Portonovo and the National Maritime-Terrestrial Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia: Ons Island. • Evenings

Accomodation

Accommodation (in bungalows) and food will be at Camping Os Fieitás: https://bit.ly/2TJlB0d / https://www.fieitas.com/

Meeting point

The first day at the Pontevedra train station (www.renfe.es). From Santiago de Compostela by road, to Pontevedra: www.autocaresriasbaixas.com or www.monbus.com. By train: www.renfe.es. From Vigo to Pontevedra by road: www.monbus.com. You can also travel by train. The bus line that connects the airports of Peinador (Vigo) and Lavacolla (Santiago de Compostela) with their bus and train stations are www.vitrasa.es and www.tussa.org respectively.

Notes:

The incorporation to the work camp is in the afternoon of the first day and the departure the last day after breakfast. RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: • Toiletry bag and shower towel. • Sleeping bag and small backpack. • Mountain shoes and sports shoes. • Clothing: sportswear (sweatshirts...), warm clothing (suitable for working in the rain or cold weather), waterproof coat, work clothes (gloves, cap/hat, comfortable shoes,...).