Project summary: The workcamp will contribute in the biodiversity and legality safeguard at Vesuvius slopes.DescriptionProject: Participants will be mainly involved in the care and maintenance of the "Environment and Legality" observatory of the Vesuvius National Park (VNP), managed by Legambiente. It is a structure containing among the outdoor spaces, 4 community gardens, a remembrance and civil commitment's park (with trees in memory of Mafia's victims), 2 indoor classrooms for activities with children and young people. The indoor area is characterized by an intercultural workshop and a projection room. The volunteers will also be engaged in the cleaning and maintenance of the paths of the VNP and in the requalification of the old train station of Boscotrecase managed by Libera and Legambiente. Finally, at the headquarters of Legambiente, they will participate in moments of exchange and social confrontation with the local guys and/or with other people engaged in the defense of common goods with other associations.Legambiente local group: The voluntary association Legambiente Ottaviano "Mimmo Beneventano" began its activity of denunciation of the abuses of that area in the early '80s as a local association, and joined Legambiente in 1989. In recent years the association has linked his name to important initiatives to expose illegality's spread on the territory of Vesuvius, managing to achieve important results like the closure of garbage dump of Somma Vesuviana, Herculaneum and Terzigno, located in the National Park, the numerous charges against abusive pits, hydrogeological instability, aquifers and wells' pollution, forest fires, illegal building and so on; sometimes denouncing omissions, indifference and inefficiency of local administration.Moreover, Legambiente is in charge of excursions in the Vesuvius National Park, environmental education, "environment and legality" help desk, volunteer workcamp and civil protection.Work: manual agricultural work, social events planning, naturalistic research about flora and fauna, green areas maintenance and monitoring (to prevent hunting, fires or other abuses). Moreover, volunteers will be involved in other social activities like trekking and postering for awareness about legality and biodiversity.Study part: Volunteers will follow legality and biodiversity courses oriented to the safeguard of the nature and the defense of green areas.Accommodation and food: The volunteers will be hosted in two buildings: •The city sport center, located at Gianni Rodari public school at 15, San Leonardo street of Ottaviano; •The old train station of Boscotrecase (a near town) They will eat Italian and, especially, Neapolitan typical food, known all over the world as the cornerstone of Mediterranean diet. Meals will be served at Legambiente headquarters of Ottaviano.Location and leisure: The location will be the Vesuvius National Park is centered on the active volcano Vesuvius, northwest from Naples. The park was established in June 1995 and covers an area of around 135 square kilometers all located within the Province of Naples. It is centered on the active volcano and its most ancient (now inactive) crater, Monte Somma. It houses 612 vegetable species and 227 wildlife ones. Specific Requirements: attitude to walk.Language: EnglishTerminal: Naples Capodichino Airport and Naples Central Station (Garibaldi station) are the closest terminals.
Very small uninhabited island in front of Palermo known as a natural reserve since over 15 years. Volunteers will help in cleaning it, building stone paths, label and number rabbits burrows. In the afternoon they ll work on rocky shores (not on the island) to clean them and will distribute leaflets on environmental protection to local citizens and turist. Work can be tiring and hard due to hot temperature and Sicilian sun. (hat and sunblock are compulsory).The volunteers will support some environmental activities with local volunteers.
Accommodation and food:
In a small house in the village (not on the island). All volunteers will stay in the same room equipped with bunk beds. Food to be cooked by volunteers.
Special requirements:
Being able to swim is compulsory.
Location and free time:
Isola is close to Palermo and connected with regular bus.
The work camp is organized by YAP (Youth Action for Peace) in cooperation with ACARBIO (Associazione Costiera Amalfitana Riserva Biosfera) and the local municipality of Minori. ACARBIO is an NGO engaged in the candidature of the Amalfi Coast as Biosphere Reserve within the MAB-UNESCO programme. Its activities focus on the conservation and safeguard of the natural and historical-cultural heritage of the Amalfi Coast, by promoting any kind of sustainable development with projects regarding the environment, biodiversity, tourism, local tradition, mobility, green energy. Among the many activities of the organization, international workcamps are becoming more and more important. In the past 2 years YAP organized with ACARBIO 7 workcamps about cleaning of green areas, the beach, workshops for kids on recycling and upcycling, building of natural houses, etc.. These projects were organized under the name of Make it Green and Make it Blue. As ACARBIO has worked these years promoting a more sustainable approach towards mother nature, we believe this project represents an opportunity to raise awareness about environmental protection at local level, and at the same time promoting volunteering, international cooperation and the involvement of local youth. More information about our previous workcamps can be found here http://goo.gl/HPSXGO
WORK:
International volunteers will work together with local volunteers from the civil service and they will give their contribution to the achievement of the objectives. The main activities will be focused on supervising the public beach, providing assistance to the bathers by keeping the beach clean from garbage, cleaning the sea with a paddle boat (pedalo), empty the trash bins, coordinate the usage of the umbrella-beach holders and make sure they are in their places , clean the main dock of the city from the sand, check the id cards of local people accessing to the “resident beach”, warn people not to play with the ball on the public beach or on the dock. The volunteers will also be engaged in the organization of activities for children aimed to raise awareness about the protection of the sea side and the environment as a whole. They will be protagonists in the communication activities and will send an important message in favour of the environment. Volunteers will be engaged in work for 6-7 hours a day, for 6 days a week.
ACCOMMODATION:
Board and lodging are guaranteed for all participants. Volunteers will stay at one of the local schools, where there will be bathrooms, showers and a kitchen. Participants will be asked to take their sleeping bag with them. The group will be responsible for preparing meals and cleaning the place. The organization will provide all the food that is needed. Public transportations are available for every days movements.
LOCATION:
Minori is a prestigious tourist destination in the Amalfi Coast. It is a small town that counts around 2.800 inhabitants and it is famous for being an ancient vacation destination for Romans. In fact a well preserved roman Villa was found in 1932 and now it’s one of the main attraction of the place. This town is also very famous for its gastronomic tradition, being the place where the production of pasta was born and became an art. Of course Minori offers also a beautiful seaside, beaches, nice promenade, stunning landscapes, one of the biggest Basilicas of the area and its bell tower. Other famous places like Amalfi, Ravello and Positano can be visited nearby. Naples and Salerno are about 1 hour away. In this period of the year there are several events related to local traditions, art and music all along the coast.
TERMINAL:
Airport of Naples. There are public busses that will allow participants to reach the place where they will be staying in Tramonti. The nearest train stations are Nocera Inferiore, Salerno and Naples in this order. From the train station you can take a bus to the Amalfi Coast, stopping at Minori. Specific instruction on how to reach us will be provided in the infosheet.
SPECIAL REMARKS:
A project-related motivation letter is required. This workcamp is recommended for people who love the sea and the nature, who are interested in the topic of sustainable development and protection of biodiversity, who are ready to have a positive attitude towards interculturalism. No specific experience is required for the project, only a lot of motivation, responsibility during the activities and desire to explore new places and help the nature and the local community.
The Regional Park Spina Verde was established in 1993 to safeguard the green space of the city of Como. The aim of the workcamp is to restore some paths and archaeological areas within the park, to improve the accessibility and quality of tourism.
Legambiente local group:
the local group in Como mainly focuses on the issues of soil consumption, air pollution and illegal dumps. It participates in the national campaign Lakes Schooner, for the monitoring of the lakes’ quality, and collaborates with the local schools in environment education activities.
Work:
the volunteers will be engaged in the restoration and cleaning of the paths, and some painting activities of the fences.
Accommodation and food:
the volunteers will be accommodated in a hostel inside the park, reachable on foot. Food will be prepared and served by the restaurant of the hostel.
Location and leisure:
The Regional park Spina Verde is a green space that stands like a thorn (“spina”) in the basin of Como and its lake. It is a very valuable area from the naturalistic, historic and archaeological points of view: the medieval castle Baradello, the defence line of the I World War, the ruins of the prehistoric town. Moreover, there is the famous and wonderful Como’s lake which attracts many visitors each year.
Language:
English will be the official language in the camp.
Terminal:
airports of Milan (Linate and Malpensa) and Bergamo (Orio al Serio); Como trains station.
Project summary: In Chiaverano, a small and nice village at the feet of the Alps, the volunteers will support the local community project to reduce hydrogeological risks and so preventing damages due to possible landslides. DescriptionProject: The village of Chiaverano is located up on the hills of la Serra Morena and is surrounded by chestnuts trees with old banks made by stone walls that must be maintained and if the case restored because the territory shows evidence of possible hydrogeological damage. The local community has put in place a specific project to avoid possible landslides: beyond the restoring of the walls it is needed an in depth cleaning of the woods and small torrents. The volunteers shall support the local community in this project. Legambiente local group: The Legambiente Dora Baltea club takes the name from the river that flows through the Morenic Amphitheatre, born by the retirements of the Balteo glacier. All our activities are devoted to the preservation of our territory either monitoring new industrial settlement. We also participate to the national campaigns such as Clean Up the World, Alps Caravanning, Trees Festival. We cooperate with some other local clubs engaged in similar activities involving specifically young people. Work: The volunteers and local people will be involved in pruning bushes, clearing brambles, and restoring stone walls and fences. The tools and the instructions for a proper use of them will be provided by expert people. Furthermore touristic indications will be developed and put in place. Other activities could be helping experts to organize events and excursions on naturalistic and anthropological themes. Study part: Integral part of the camp is the knowledge of the environment as well as history of the community and economy developped by the Olivetti company in XX century that has left a strong imprinting. Accommodation and food: The volunteers will be hosted in a hostel building in Chiaverano village.The hostel has two large bedrooms, two restrooms, a large kitchen and an outdoor rainproof space. Any care will be taken to reduce the meat consumption and to provide special food should be it asked for religious or personal problems.. WI-FI is not available everywhere.Location and leisure: Chiaverano is a small village (50 km far from Turin) at the feet of the Alps in the largest European Morenic Amphitheatre. It is surrounded by a fascinating landscape of morenic hills and lakes. They are the usual destination of people loving the nature. The territory is rich of geological and naturalistic witness of the ancient presence of the mankind. From the village it's easy to reach the highest mountains in Europe by car and then on foot. A visit to Torino, the first capital of Italy, is also possible. The nearest town is Ivrea known in the world because Olivetti typewriters, computers and printers.Language: English will be the official language in the camp.Terminal: Airports: Torino Caselle, Milano Malpensa, Milano Linate, Orio al Serio. Ivrea Railway station.
Legambiente Paestum has the mission to transform an abandoned space – the dune ecosystem that goes from the coast to the archaeological area – in an open-air laboratory for the knowledge of coast ecosystem, addressing local community, tourists, students, researchers. The dune is in fact the most valuable environmental element in the ecosystem, thanks to the psammofite vegetation and particularly the sea lily. Nowadays called “Dune Oasis”, it became a social experiment where artistic performances, concerts, cinema, books presentation and voluntary activities are organised. Recently, Legambiente started collaborating with the migrants’ shelter in Paestum, fostering their social inclusion, through language courses, socialising events, migrants’ participation in maintenance activities in the Dune Oasis. The workcamps are included in these inclusion project and foreseen the participation of migrants in the camps activities. The aim is to make the migrants feel active protagonist of the valorisation of their hosting territory. The volunteers will share with them an ordinary life experience, participating all together in the serene relational group dynamics. They will help in the language learning and in valorising their competences and capacities.
Legambiente local group:
Born in 1987, Legambiente local group in Paestum - Freewheeling – is currently enaged in the running of Dune Oasis; in the project "Paestumanità" for the valorisation of the archaeological area; in the campaign "No Tonz" fighting against the artificialisation of the coast.
Work:
the volunteers will work together with the migrants at the environmental maintenance of the Dune Oasis, visitirs’ welcoming, signals’ creation, preparation of the 3rd edition of the festival Festambiente Paestumanità.
Study part:
there will be informal training sessions about migrants’ inclusion and conservation of coast habitat.
Accommodation:
guest house in the Dune Oasis.
Location and leisure:
Paestum is a little town founded during VI century b.C. by Greeks, who built wonderful temples - and civilization – that now consitute a very important archeological area (UNESCO site) among the best maintained in the Mediterranean.
Location:
Paestum, province of Salerno, Campania region
Special requirements:
open-minded volunteers are welcome; a basic knowledge of Italian is needed.
Language:
Italian is the official language of the camp because of the learning process of migrants. However, English and French will be widely used to ensure the communication among migrants, Italian and foreign volunteers.
Project summary: The project aims to restore the environment of the areas Costa Verde (Arbus) and Monte Margherita (Guspini) and to renovate the trails network, that will provide a valuable contribution to local schools for environmental education, and will promote practices of environmentally sustainable tourism.DescriptionProject: The goal of the project is restoring the environment of the two areas Costa Verde (Arbus) and Monte Margherita (Guspini) by renovating the walking trails and the watercourses, realization of rest areas, collection of waste and wildlife monitoring. The trails network will provide a valuable contribution to local schools for environmental education, and will promote practices of environmentally sustainable tourism.Legambiente local group: Legambiente Guspini serves a very important function for environmental education and culture in the mining areas. It runs the Center for Environmental Education and Sustainability (CEAS) in Montevecchio and performs environmental activities since 1996.The environmental education is the main purpose of the center with activities for schools. Currently, the Center is working with the municipal government of Guspini and Arbus for the construction of nature trails, the organization of voluntary environmental workcamps, the realization of workshops with the schools of the territory.Work: trails arrangements, realization of rest areas, cleaning of water springs near the village of Montevecchio, collecting trash on the beaches and wildlife monitoring, placing the CAI signs along the paths that lead to the coast from Montevecchio until the Piscinas beach.Accommodation and food: Volunteers will be lodged in a former school; it has 4 rooms with beds and mattresses, pillows and blankets; 12 bathrooms and showers. There are 1 kitchen, 1 refectory, 1 projection room, 1 multimedia room with internet connection, 1 classroom-conference room for 50 seats, 1 library supplied with text and video tapes on various environmental issues, one on the main film library film productions of Sardinia. The building has architectural barriers and it is not wheelchair accessible.Location and leisure: Montevecchio is one of the most ancient mining sites in Italy. It is located in the south west of Sardinia - in the Province of Medio Campidano – in the Natural Reserve Monte Arcuentu-Dune di Piscinas. It is 20 km far from the sea (Costa Verde); the beaches, the dunes of Piscinas and shoreline Scivu are famous because of their integrity and the coastal area naturalness.Specific Requirements: good attitude to walkParticipation fee (No extra fee for children under 5)1 adult + 1 child= 150 euro 1 adult + 2 children = 190 euro1 adult + 3 children = 200 euro2 adults + 1 child = 300 euro2 adults + 2 children = 340 euro2 adults + 3 children = 380 euroLanguage: Italian and EnglishTerminal: nearest airport is Cagliari; nearest train station is Guspini.
Age:
4-99
Location:
Montevecchio, province of medio campidano, sardegna region
Project summary: With the aim of building solidarity in the village, the volunteers will reactivate the greenhouses next to a daily centre for people with disabilities, who will maintain the greenhouses during their ordinary activities. DescriptionProject: With the aim of building solidarity in Sant'Elpidio a Mare, the workcamp will restore two greenhouses – currently abandoned - in front of the cooperative «La Serra», that hosts young adults with disabilities. The greenhouses will constitute, then, a permanent project for the people of the centre, who will maintain them in their ordinary laboratories.The volunteer will also contribute in the maintenance of the path that leads from "La Serra" to Santa Croce basilica, a fundamental structure for the religious, historic and artistic development of the vtown.Legambiente local group: Legambiente Porto Sant'Elpidio was born in 1988; it is involved in all the environmental battles and campaigns carried out by the national Legambiente and in campaigns of environmental education in collaboration with schools and other associations. During its years of activity a lot of energy was spent to promote the historical memory and the identity of some important places, such as Fim (an old fertilizer factory currently abandoned) and an area called Orfeo Serafini, that was a football camp in front of the see, freed from the risk of overbuilding. Work: The volunteers will repair the greenhouses that guests of «La Serra» will use after summer holiday: with the support of an agronomist, they will set up some places for cultivation, that will be organized in the basis of periodicity. Labels and instructions for every plant will also be produced, so that the guests of the cooperative «La Serra» will be able to use these greenhouses.Another activity will be the realization of the signals for the near trail that leads to the river Chienti and connect «La Serra» to the cathedral of Santa Croce.Study part: experts of history, agricolture and food will ensure interactive learning between volunteers and local people. Accommodation and food: The volunteers will be hosted in a building in the centre of Sant' Elpidio A Mare. The organizer staff of the work camp will buy the food, preferring local products, typical of the "Mediterranean diet". Location and leisure: Sant'Elpidio a Mare is a medieval town, located in Marche region, near Fermo; it is on a ridge of Marche Apennine, 251 meters above sea level, between the lower river valleys of the river Tenna and Ete Morto, 9 km far from the Adriatic Sea. The archive of Santa Croce basilica is full of ancient documents that were realized by Augustinian monks. One of the most famous monk is saint Nicola, the protector of children. Also the monuments in Sant' Elpidio a Mare are related to Santa Croce because this area was the ancient center of the town. The participants will discover the history of Sant' Elpidio a Mare and of the other ctowns located in the territory. The volunteers will also visit the local agricultural and organic companies, discovering new places and food. With the participation of associations and local companies, food laboratories will be organized and the volunteers will cook the typical Italian food, like pizza and pasta.During the camp, we will see a lot of historical and musical festivals like «Città Medioevo», that is a historical event about middle age, where the volunteers could participate.Language: English will be the official language in the camp.Terminal: nearest airports: Rome airports and Falconara Airport; nearest train stations: Civitanova Marche Train Station and Ancona Train Station.
Age:
18-99
Location:
Sant'elpidio a mare, province of fermo, marche region
« I would recommend participating in a workcamp, especially with VAP, who ensured that I found a project to suit me and provided essential training for me in preparation for my trip. Being part of a workcamp really is a life-changing experience, oh, and it looks great on your CV! »
