Spring in Eyjafjörður - The longest fjord

WORK/PROJECT: The main tasks of SEEDS volunteers will be fixing up the outdoor areas of a newly sustainable tourist cooperative in the north of Iceland. The tasks include cleaning up after the winter and preparing the season, planting bushes, maintaining walking paths and other activities if needed. Some indoor cleaning tasks might be expected as well.   

The area is great for hiking, both in the mountains and in the Nature Reserve next to the accommodation. Bird watching in the nature reserve is also great this time of the year.

SEEDS Volunteers will be invited to a meal in a private home in the valley and to visit an Icelandic farm to see traditional spring time on a farm with newly born lambs.  SEEDS Volunteers will also be invited on a guided tour of the Birdland exhibition and to the museum in town.

The volunteers can borrow canoes for a tour on the river, and depending on what is going on in the community participate in local events.

ACCOMMODATION: SEEDS volunteers will be lodged in the boarding school that has been changed into a hostel, sleeping in bunk beds 3-4 persons sharing a room. Please bring your own sleeping bag.

Volunteers will receive food and be in charge of cooking and cleaning activities. 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, the longest fjord in Iceland. The fjord is long and narrow, it measures 60 km from mouth to bottom. Its greatest width is 25 km at the fjord's mouth but the rest of it is around 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 there are strips of lowland along both coasts. 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 in is an old boarding school located about 10 Kilometres from Dalvík, in the valley (Svarfaðadalur), which lies between tall and sharp mountains & several small glaciers. 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 volunteers to wear rubber boots as part of the reserve 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 of Iceland.

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

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

SEEDS organises a “minibus option”, a shared transport from Reykjavík to the camps and back. Apart from being cheap and convenient, it allows volunteers to meet fellow campers and have a relaxed trip, while stopping on the way for interesting sites.

EXTRAS / SPECIAL REMARKS: Participation fee EUR 180 (Euros).

Volunteers have to bring good walking shoes and warm clothes. Even though the camp takes place in spring, it might still be cold and hats, scarves and gloves might be necessary.

The camp is located in a place of stunningly beautiful surroundings with countless walking and hiking opportunities.

AGE: +18