Conservation Work Around the Outskirts of the City

Landscaping in great surroundings and sightseeing in the big city! You can experience both of these things in this camp on the outskirts of the metropolis of Hamburg. Amongst other things, you will be working in the Heuckenlock nature reserve, an area of around 100 hectares of tidal forests and freshwater mud flats in the south of Hamburg's Elbe island, Wilhelmsburg. The area stretches 3km along the north bank of the South Elbe and is flooded about a hundred times a year by spring and storm tides. Due to its special location between the river and the countryside, and its freshwater tides that are unique within Europe, the Heuckenlock nature reserve is an important refuge for many plant and animal species that have long since been displaced by the cultivation of the landscape in other areas. It is the most biodiverse nature reserve in the Hamburg region. In order to preserve the mudflats and the banks of the Elbe as valuable natural and living spaces, you will be removing foreign plants from both the Heuckenlock and the Schweenssand nature reserves under the guidance of employees of the Tidal Elbe Information Centre. The plants you will be removing are mainly Japanese knotweed and Indian balsam. This process will be done with both hands and spades. As a change from this strenuous and monotonous work, you will also be clearing up the accumulated rubbish in these areas, as well as making an important contribution to the restoration of the Elbe by removing stone bank fortifications (also known as “Uferdeckwerk”, or revetments) from the nearby “Auenlandschaft Obere Tideelbe” nature reserve. This workcamp offers a great opportunity to get to know the Elbe from a completely different perspective. In addition to the practical work, you will learn a lot from the employees of the Tidal Elbe Information Centre about nature and environmental protection in general, as well as the nature and habitat of freshwater tides and their protection in particular. You will learn a lot about the local flora and fauna, the tides and their effects, as well as dikes and flood protection. For more information (unfortunately only in German) about the Heuckenlock nature reserve and the Tidal Elbe Information Centre, click here: https://www.goep.hamburg/heuckenlock/ https://www.goep.hamburg/umweltbildung/elbe-tideauenzentrum.php