📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
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 onInstagram ijgd_workcampsFacebook @ijgd.workcampsProject Partner: www.dreichen.de
💼 What the programme involves
The nature park MErkische Schweiz is 40 km east of Berlin and offers its unique natural and cultural landscape as well as the backdrop for our project in and around the environmental education center "Drei Eichen" ( three oaks). Through the cooperation with the nature park administration, we will not only get to know the nature park and its surroundings together, but also actively help to shape it. Young people from the surrounding area are also invited to help out.We offer this work camp because it is fun to have young people from all over the world with us and because for some work we simply need many handsOn the grounds of the Environmental Education Center Drei Eichen live people and pets - and almost always many guests: children, families, seminar groups.Currently, we also want to reintroduce wild honey bees, which originally lived in caves in old trees, to our nature park. For this purpose, we build caves in tree trunk pieces. You will help us with this.In addition, we want to build a shelter together with you, in order to be able to store material for this old form of beekeeping (called Zeidlerei) in a dry place.For activities in between, Drei Eichen with its terrain offers many opportunities to learn about plants and animals, nature conservation and alternative ways of life and to actively participate.At different locations in the nature park MErkische Schweiz we will help to carry out different landscape maintenance works in different natural areas on some days. This involves protecting or promoting either dry or wet sites, their soil and the native plants that grow there. Historically, these sites were created and maintained through a lot of manual labor - mowing adapted to the season and grazing by sheep and goats. Today, we help with that.All work, whether in landscape maintenance, handicrafts or creative design, takes place outdoors. Depending on the current weather conditions, we always plan together on site, on which days we do what work and on which days we take a day off.
🏠 Accommodation on site
You cook together. Money for the food shopping is provided to you. Vegetarian or vegan meals are possible. Please indicate any allergies when registering.You will sleep in simple shared bedrooms in the environmental education center Drei Eichen (Three Oaks), located in the middle of the forest, 4km from Buckow.
📍 About the location
Educational Activities: You can do GPS tour(s) in the nature park, go on a guided walking tour on the topic of biological diversity, visit the local bat museum, go swimming in the various nearby lakes, visit local cinemas and the local pub "lokal". In Buckow, there is a campfire place where you can sit around at night, a climbing wall and also a can hire in the nearby area.
ℹ️ Additional information
Work can be physically demanding. Please bring weatherproof working clothes (with long sleeves and full-length trousers) with you, since youll be working outdoors.Please note: There is a special Teenage Fee of 150aO for international volunteers who applied under 18 in this camp.