Walking paths and planting in the East

WORK/PROJECT: In this project, SEEDS volunteers will do various environmental tasks in the east of Iceland in collaboration with the municipality of Fljótsdalshérað. Volunteers will stay in the town of Egilsstaðir, which is the largest town in the Eastern Region, and volunteer in the town and the nearby area.

The main tasks will be to maintain walking paths in a nearby recreational forest and maintain hiking paths on a hiking path about 40 km from the town. Volunteers will also help maintain the town’s botanical garden including weeding, trimming trees and fixing walking paths. Lastly, volunteers will also plant trees, both in the town and in the recreational forest. Possibly volunteers will also help in preparation of a town festival.

Well maintained paths enable people to visit these amazing areas without damaging the area and this important work also helps to improve safety for visitors.

Volunteers should be prepared for all kinds of weather. The work is physically demanding and volunteers need to be motivated to work outdoors. The working plan will be flexible and it will depend on the needs of our local host, the advance of the projects in the different areas and of course on the weather conditions.

ACCOMMODATION: SEEDS volunteers will sleep on mattresses in a local school building. Please bring your own sleeping bag. There is no shower in the house, but we will have free access to showers in the local swimming pool, which is very closeby.

Volunteers will receive food supplies and be in charge of the cooking and cleaning activities. Volunteers will receive a warm meal during lunch hour from a local fast food restaurant.

Do not forget some traditional/typical food or drinks from your home country for an international evening.

LOCATION: The project will be located in Egilsstaðir, the largest town of the sparsely populated eastern region which hosts only about 3% of the Icelandic population. East Iceland is known for its calm weather, beautiful fjords, and reindeers, which only live on the eastern part of Iceland.

Egilsstaðir is a town in east Iceland on the banks of the Lagarfljót, a large lake and river, believed to be the home of a cryptid serpent, called Lagarfljótsormurinn by locals.

The biggest forest in Iceland, Hallormsstaðaskógur is found near the lake as well as a waterfall, Hengifoss. Hengifoss, which is 118 metres tall and one of the tallest waterfalls in the country. Below it is another waterfall called Litlanesfoss.

LANGUAGE: English will be the language in the camp; basic conversational skills are needed.

TERMINAL: Closest international Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF). Bus station: Central Reykjavík (BSÍ).

SEEDS organises the “minibus option”, a shared transport from Reykjavík to the camps and vice-versa, which apart from being cheaper and more convenient, allows volunteers to meet fellow campers and have a relaxed trip, while stopping on the way for interesting and tourist sites.

Departure will be at 7:00 in the morning of 24 July. We will arrive back to Reykjavík in the late evening of 6 August.

EXTRAS / SPECIAL REMARKS: Participation fee EUR 100 (Euros). Please note that these fees are to be paid to SEEDS on arrival in either Euros or Icelandic krónas.

If you take SEEDS minibus option to and from the camp location, you will be able to go all around Iceland, as we drive different ways (either North or South) to and from the camp.

Volunteers have to bring good walking boots and good outdoor clothes, warm waterproof jacket, a good sleeping bag, gloves and a warm hat. The project takes place outside and it can get cold, even in summer.

Free time activities in the area will be organised depending on weather.