Kuromatsunai

CODE: NICE-26S-0722A

Work:

Volunteers will help to run three kids summer camps each for 4-7 days by playing with and assisting kids, running cultural programs (sharing your dance, songs, arts, sports, games, cooking, etc.) and helping house work and preparation such as cleaning, cooking and setting up the equipment with the staffs and other vols. You won’t have much "free" time, let's enjoy the time with the children!

Accomodation and food

Old school (Volunteers will sometimes sleep in the same rooms with the kids by turns during the kids camp). Lunch besides the kids camp period will be cooked by volunteers by turns while other meals will be provided mainly by mother Mariko san (but you should still help!). Sleeping bag is necessary.

Location and leisure

South west of Hokkaido island. Full of beautiful nature with national reserve of beech forests, a river and wetland. Main industry is cattle farming. Other activities - Exchange parties. Volunteers can enjoy rich nature through joining and assisting the kids camp in the sea, river, forests, etc.

Project hosted by

This project is actively working for SDG4 (Quality Education)/ SDGS11 (Sustainable cities and communities) and has been organized together with Buna-no-mori Shizen Gakko (nature school with beech forests) since 2003. BSG was started in 1998 to promote ecological education for kids and run various kinds of programs such as walking in the forest as the school program, trekking and searching for fossils for the tourists and kids camps in the spring/ summer vacations as well as training for the nature guides, maintaining the community farm, exchange with the local community, etc.
*Outcome of this workcamp: In 2025, 4 international vols. worked together with the local people and made great contribution such as exchanging with the local kids to grow glocal friendship! Please see the long term goal of this project as "Local SDGs" at https://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/n1-68295484 (only Japanese for the moment, but you can at least enjoy the pictures!)

Directions to meeting point

Additional comments

Study theme - Children's life in each county Participation fee - 18,000 JPY (99 EUR by the rate on 2026 Feb. 14) of "NICE Volunteers" fee need to be paid in advance either by Card or PayPal. This is used for the project preparation/ coordination such as the transportation of the staff/ camp leaders, visa invitation cost, publications, etc. while the meals and the accommodation are provided by the local host by free (so, your fee is not used for those things!). Other - Takagi san, the President of BSG is one of the leading persons for the nature school movement in Japan with a lot of experiences and great visions. You may possibly have a few opportunities to talk with him with drinking. And his partner, Mariko san, has been warmly taking care of hundreds of kids and youth with a big heart! Chiko san is a young coordinator and also kind, active and attractive speaking fluent English since she has studied in UK for a few years.