Longer stays of volunteer groups means fewer international flights and less emissions

Cheerful volunteers set of from the Icelandic Forest Service facilities in Langidalur carrying building material for new steps on the hilly hiking trail on the nearby mountain Valahnúkur. Photo Anna Mariager/Trailteam.is

Volunteers will be staying up to 11 weeks doing voluntary work at the Nature Conservation Area Thórsmörk during the summer 2021. Prolonging the stay of voluntary group means fewer International flights in connection with the voluntary work and less carbon emissions. Apart from that, volunteers plant tree seedlings in the Icelandic National Forests to sequester carbon emitted during their travels.

Recently, the organisation Thórsmörk Trail Volunteers called for applications for voluntary work in the Thórsmörk area for the summer 2021. Applications will be open until January 31st. We are looking for volunteers both for our ‘Operations team’ which will be staying 11 weeks in Iceland and ordinary Trailteam placements with durarion 5 or 7 weeks. Apart from doing voluntary work, our teams will get the opportunity to enjoy a bit of free time to enjoy adventures in the stunning Icelandic landscape.

Operation Teams

We are now gathering our teams for 2021 and are looking for volunteers to join us for an 11-week adventure.

These placements with our ‘Operations team’ combine hands-on practical work with organisational and team leadership tasks. Although the focus of our work remains trail management projects in Thórsmörk, the 11-week placements also include tree planting tasks with our Forest Service colleagues on other sites in south Iceland. The establishment of these longer placements has helped us to reduce the number of flights associated with the programme.

These placements are challenging and particularly suitable for volunteers who have worked with us in Thórsmörk before or experienced similar programmes with volunteer teams. The 11-week placements start in May and June and further details are now available on our website.

Applications for our 2021 placements will be open until January 31st.
https://trailteam.is/operations-team/

11 week stays

Volunteer Opportunities

No previous experience of trail construction work is necessary as practical training will be provided. We are looking for participants who have some experience of camping and hill walking, enjoy wilderness landscapes and are ready for a challenge. Iceland’s notoriously changeable weather means that our teams have to be well prepared with warm clothing, good waterproofs and sturdy tents. Due to the strenuous nature of our work, participants must be physically fit and as many of our work sites are in remote locations, we do a lot of hiking to get to them!

Full details and application forms are now available… https://trailteam.is/opportunities/

We will start to allocate places at the beginning of January and applications will close on January 31st.

5 or 7 week stays

Text: Pétur Halldórsson