📝 Detailed information
💼 What the programme involves
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 nature reserves Heuckenlock, Schweenssand and Auenlandschaft Obere Tideelbe under the guidance of employees of the Tidal Elbe Information Centre. The plants you will be removing are mainly Japanese knotweed. This process will be done with both hands and spades.
This workcamp offers a great opportunity to get to know the Elbe from a completely different perspective. As a change from this strenuous and monotonous work, you will also be clearing up the accumulated rubbish in these areas.
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
🏠 Accommodation on site
Meals: The group will prepare and cook meals together. Money for food is provided.
Accommodation: You will sleep on air mattresses in a modern youth centre in the suburb Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg
📍 About the location
In your free time you could take a trip to the second largest city in Germany, where numerous leisure activities await you. Your accommodation and worksite are on the Elbe island of Wilhemsburg, which is also one of the most exciting districts of Hamburg.
www.hamburg.de (German) / www.hamburg.com (English)
http://www.hamburg.de/wilhelmsburg/ (German)
http://www.hamburg.de/sehenswertes-wilhelmsburg/ (German)
http://www.hamburg.com/explore/districts/wilhelmsburg/ (English)
At the weekends it’s worth taking a trip to the beaches on the coasts along the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
⚠️ Requirements
You should be physically fit enough for the demanding work during this project.
ℹ️ Additional information
Smoking and drinking alcohol is strictly prohibited in the youth centre. You take the bus to the place of work for 20 minutes every day (tickets are provided).
There is an additional administration fee of 50 € for participants who are not from Germany.
