Environmental Work Camps with focus on different topics will take place throughout Austria in Summer 2012. Young adults from 16 to 30 years, who enjoy working in the Nature, who want to contribute in environmental conservation and who want to make friends, are welcome to participate. Working is voluntarily, cost and lodge is free and organized by the Austrian Young Nature Friends.
Austria’s Young Nature Friends offer young adults to engage themselves for nature and environment. Environmental Work Camps by the Young Nature Friends have been offered since the beginning of the NGO. Volunteers have helped in various projects, such as building alpine huts and the reconstruction of trails. Next to physical and intellectual work in the nature, we also offer an amusing social program.
In the past few years nature conservation serves no longer just for amusement, hiking and mountaineering. It has become an important topic in politics, as the community shows more and more interest in conserving natural resources.
Target group: Young Nature Friends members, teenagers and young adults from 16 to 30 years
Duration: one week during the summer holidays, from Sunday to Saturday
Description: 25 hours/week during one Work Camp; voluntary work; no costs for board and lodging
Environmental Work Camps often take place with international participation in order to exchange experiences and make friends.
The environmental Work Camps are announced on the homepage, in provincial journals and in the following magazines: Team Magazin, Naturfreund, Friends Jugendmagazin. Austria’s Young Nature Friends support and promote all Work Camps according to the number of participants and total costs.
Guidelines for organisers of Environmental Work Camps:
- Prior to the Environmental Work Camp a meeting between the organiser and the environmental referee of the Austrian Young Nature Friends needs to take place.
- The Environmental Work Camps should in each case last at least one week. Work Camps with a duration for more than one week are possible, participants should however also be able to just take part for one week.
- Board and Lodging for the participants need to be organised. Self-catering is possible as well.
- Work should be as diverse as possible and should serve nature and landscape conservation. Programs which only focus on collecting waste are undesirable, in particular if these programs are supported by companies or profit-organisations.
- In all cases there should be manual work. Participants need to be informed about possibilities and requirements beforehand. Experts shall be involved in order to ensure state of scientific and technological knowledge. Working equipment has to be provided.
- Next to the working program leisure activities need to be planned (duration around 1 day).
- For every Environmental Work Camp a person in charge for pedagogic and organizational issues needs to be engaged.
- Consulting with the local group of the Nature Friends at the location of the Work Camp is necessary.
- It is necessary to check together with authorities and landowners whether the planned project fulfils all requirements (eg. Nature Conservation Act).
- The Environmental Work Camp should be connected with public relations (documentation, press invitation, press release, information board for pedestrians)
The following workcamps are planned so far for this summer:
Environmental Work Camp by the Young Nature Friends of Tyrol: Nature trail at the Hochwildalm
The Environmental Work Camp 2012 by the Young Nature Friends of Tyrol will take place at the Hochwildalm. The aim of the project is the signposting, the construction as well as the reconstruction of a nature trail. The engaged volunteers will learn a lot about the sensitive ecological alpine region and the participants can contribute to a sustainable development in the beautiful alpine region.
Date: July, 13th to 18th 2012
Place: Nature Friends Hut Hochwildalm
Info: Nature Friends of Tyrol, HP Gärtner, 0512/584144, hanspeter.gaertner@naturfreunde.at
Environmental Workcamp by the Nature Friends of Lower Austria: Protecting the floodplains of the Danube
This Environmental Work Camp is taking place in course of the project „Wasser:Wege – water:paths“ and serves for the conservation of habitats dominated by water. During the Environmental Work Camp the young adults shall learn more about the floodplains and shall become more aware about the unique and endangered habitats. This Environmental Work Camp is a project in cooperation with the International Nature Friends and the Austrian Federal Forests (ÖBf).
Date: July 28th – August 2nd 2012
Place: Nationalpark Donauauen, Schloss Eckartsau
Info: Young Nature Friends, Irene Raffetseder, 07242/90 310, jugend@natufreunde.at
Environmental Workcamp by the Young Nature Friends of Upper Austria: Dachsteincamp
At this year’s Dachsteincamp we will again dedicate our time to the maintenance and the construction of the alpine infrastructure. In the world heritage region Dachstein we want to enforce sustainable tourism, which is socially and ecologically compatible. Various projects serve for nature conservation. The guests of the Wiesberghouse shall be sensitised for nature by several attractions of the nature and environmental sector. That is why the alpine training centre, the Wiesberghouse, plays an important role. Leisure activities during the Work Camp will be hiking, climbing and activities concerning nature studies.
Date: on request
Place: Wiesberghaus, Dachstein
Info: Nature Friends of Upper Austria, Siegfried Lehner, 0732/667410, naturfreunde.oeko@aon.at
For more information please refer to the website http://www.naturfreundejugend.at or write to e-mail addressjugend@naturfreunde.at.
