Þórshöfn & Langanes Peninsula - Happy days festivities!

WORK/PROJECT: The county administration of the Langanes district (Langanesbyggð) will be our host again. SEEDS volunteers will work now for the fifth year in a row there. The work will be varied and will mainly follow up projects started by past years’ volunteers:

Nourishing, taking care of trees and vegetation planted (follow up on survival and growth of trees), cleaning up the coast line from (one of the biggest pollution issues in the area is the litter brought to the shore due to sea currents that even bring timber as far as from Siberia); help in the construction of a new park for the community, gardening tasks and at the end of the project support the locals preparing the town and the venues for the summer festival “Kátir dagar” (Happy days) a festival held there every July. Additional tasks depending on the advance may include taking down old fences in deserted farms in the district.

ACCOMMODATION: Volunteers will be lodged in the local sports centre, sleeping on mattresses on the floor. A sleeping bag is needed. Within the facilities of the centre volunteers will have a kitchen to cater themselves. Food will be provided and meals will be then prepared/cooked by volunteers. Luckily there will be access to the nearby local swimming pool and sport centre with top-quality facilities.

LOCATION: Þórshöfn* is a compact, busy little town at the base of the Langanes Peninsula in the North-East of Iceland, located at the Þistilfjörður. The entire district (including farms and the village of Bakkafjörður) has 480 Inhabitants (2008) and they base their livelihood on fishing, fish processing and commerce serving the surrounding rural farming area. It is probably the best place in Iceland to experience what it is like to live in an isolated village, 100 km from the next one. Around 400 people live in the village itself and the distance from the capital is 630 Km by the Whale Bay tunnel.

The Langanes peninsula is the last word in Icelandic remoteness and it narrows like a spear point toward northeast and its fowling cliffs have been and still are a means of sustenance for those, who live there. Nowadays, the area is very sparsely populated. Most farms have been abandoned during the last few decades. Some of the remaining farmers tend the breeding colonies of the eiders and collect their down, clean it and sell at high prices.

Nature lovers spend days on end at the densely populated bird cliffs watching gannets, puffins, guillemots, brunnich's guillemots, black guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars etc. One of the best places for the observation of the gannets is Cliff Storikarl off the bird cliff Skoruvikurbjarg. Other bird species colonise different parts of the peninsula, such as the arctic terns near the farm Ytra-Lon.

LANGUAGE: English will be the language in the camp, but high proficiency is not a requirement.

STUDY THEME: This workcamp has an educational/awareness-rising approach to environmental, nature-protection and sustainable development topics. Apart from the leader, we will have an environmental messenger, a person dedicated to organising and developing fun, interactive and educational activities within the project.

TERMINAL: Closest International Airports: Keflavík /Reykjavík (KEF) and Akureyri (AEY); nearest domestic airport is Þórshöfn (THO), while the closest bus stop is in town. 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.

SPECIAL REMARKS / EXTRAS: Participation fee EUR 120,- (Euros). Free entrance to the local modern swimming pool, sports centre facilities. Excursions will be arranged by the local contacts.

AGE: 18+

* The name Þórshöfn is the harbor of Þór. Þór is the thunder god. His wife’s name is Sif. Þór is the son of Odin the most powerful god. Odin’s horse Sleipnir put one of its eight feet down in Ásbyrgi, hence the horseshoes shape. It is a must to visit the ponds in Ásbyrgi on your way to Dettifoss.