Eyjafjörður - The longest fjord in Iceland

WORK/PROJECT:

SEEDS volunteers will have the chance to help build the surroundings of a brand new sustainable tourist association/cooperative and community based project with about 50 locals involved. The project is being built in and around an old boarding school that needs to be altered to fit the new purposes.

Volunteers will be changing the rooms in the boarding school, creating bedrooms, changing the indoor surroundings, building and maintaining walking paths, building a camping place in the area, preparing the camp site for the summer, building an outdoor education place for children to have camp fires and outdoor cooking facilities.

The project will host several groups of SEEDS volunteers this year and depending on the advance of the tasks, the groups will focus more on the projects that are being run at the moment.

ACCOMMODATION:

SEEDS volunteers will be lodged in the boarding school, sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Please bring your own sleeping bag.

Volunteers will receive food and be in charge of the different cooking and cleaning activities during the project.  Please do not forget some traditional/typical food from your home country for the international evening.

LOCATION:

Volunteers will stay in the North of Iceland in the municipality of Dalvíkurbyggð (population around 2000) and at the shores of Eyjafjörður, which is the longest fjord in Iceland. The fjord is long and narrow, it measures 60 km from mouth to bottom and its greatest width is 25 km at the fjord's mouth but for the greater part of its length it is usually 6 -10 km wide.

The fjord is surrounded by mountains on both sides, in the outer part of the fjord there are no lowlands along the coast as the steep hills roll directly into the sea. Further south in the fjord there are strips of lowland along both coasts; these are wider on the west side. The ferry Sæfari sails from Dalvík to the island of Grímsey, Iceland’s northernmost community, which lies on the Arctic Circle.

The area where SEEDS volunteers will be working and sleeping is an old boarding school located about 30 Kilometres from Dalvík, located in a large and densely populated valley (Svarfaðadalur) that lies between tall and sharp mountains. The majestic mountains that surround the area hold several small glaciers and a river runs through the valley from the mountains to the sea.

In the valley, there is a Nature reserve that volunteers will have the chance to visit and enjoy. This environment provides an excellent habitat for many species of birds. In April the migratory birds start to arrive for the summer breeding season. From the project base, there are footpaths that can be easily followed through part of the reserve, we advise to wear rubber boots as part is wetland. 

The mountains offer great hiking options and the mountains of Tröllaskagi peninsula are by many viewed as the most spectacular outdoor activity in all Iceland.

LANGUAGE:

English will be the language in the camp; high proficiency is not a requirement.

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.

EXTRAS / SPECIAL REMARKS:

Participation fee EUR 100 (Euros).

Volunteers have to good walking shoes and clothes, even though summer is coming, it might still be cold and hats and gloves might be necessary.

The camp is located in a place of extreme beautiful surroundings with countless opportunities to discover them by foot or hiking; area surrounded by stunning mountains, glaciers and rivers.

Age: 18+