Animal and plant protection in northern German moor and heathland areas

CODE: ijgd 16005

Work:

You will work with your workcamp group in seven protected areas. In the Fauna-Flora Habitat areas (FFH – habitats of animals and plants protected under EU law) and nature reserves (NSG) "Bullensee and Hemelsmoor", "Hohes Moor", "Großes and Weißes Moor", "Huvenhoopsmoor", you will remove felled trees from former peat cutting areas and heathland to create habitat for endangered and moor-relevant plant species such as sphagnum moss, cranberry and smooth snake.
In the Stellingsmoor landscape conservation area (LSG), your group will clear sensitive moorland areas to preserve the moorland development and habitat for the protected smooth snake. In the Bevern Forest nature reserve, you will check bat boxes.
All activities are professionally supervised by the staff and volunteers of the NABU Ecological Station Oste-Region. In addition to the practical work, you will learn a lot about nature conservation and environmental protection in general as well as the natural habitat of moors and heaths and their protection in particular from the staff and volunteers. You will learn a lot about the local flora and fauna, their relevance for the ecosystem and the various measures to protect them.
The cooperation partners for this work camp are the nature conservation authorities of the districts of Rotenburg (Wümme) and Stade, as well as the NABU groups Bremervörde-Zeven and Stade.

Accomodation and food

You will stay in the Badenstedt school hostel, a self-catering house with 4 and 6-bed rooms in the middle of nature. The house has a large kitchen, toilets, communal showers and two common rooms for eating and group activities.
You cook together. Money for shopping will be provided. Vegetarian or vegan meals are possible. Please indicate any intolerances when registering.

Location and leisure

In your leisure time, you can enjoy your quiet accommodation and the beautiful surroundings by playing sports and spending evenings together around the campfire. There is a table football in the house and outside there is a goal wall, a basketball hoop, a table tennis table, a football pitch with two goals, a barbecue and a campfire area with seating.
After work you can also take the hourly bus to the neighbouring town of Zeven within 10 minutes.
At the weekend trips to Bremen and Hamburg are worthwhile.

Project hosted by

Ecological NABU Station Oste-Region (German: Ökologischen NABU-Station Oste-Region)
The Ecological NABU- Station Oste Region is an institution of NABU Lower Saxony. The station provides local support to the Rotenburg and Stade districts in their management of protected areas. Its core tasks are primarily the recording of animal and plant species, the initiation, planning, implementation and success monitoring of maintenance and development measures, as well as the planning and implementation of species protection measures.
The station not only works closely with the nature conservation authorities, but also with the NABU Bremervörde-Zeven and Stade district groups to coordinate and initiate necessary measures.

The ijgd has been organising volunteer service programmes since 1949. We are an independent, non-profit association for international youth work, a recognised independent youth welfare organisation, and one of the largest and oldest workcamp organisations in Germany. Each year, we assist around 5,000 young people into volunteer work in Germany and abroad. We give them the opportunity to be creative, act in solidarity, take responsibility for themselves, and discover their own true potential and strengths. Our principles: Ecological learning, voluntary contribution, self-organisation, social development, intercultural learning, gender equality, anti-racism/anti-discrimination and political education
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Directions to meeting point

Meeting point and time: at accommodation until 6:45pm on 05/09/2026
Directions to Meeting Point:
From Hamburg airport (travel time to workcamp 2,5 to 3,5h)
From Hamburg main station (travel time to workcamp 1,5 to 2h)
From Bremen airport please take the tram line 6 (direction "Universität") to the stop Bremen Hbf (main station) ((travel time 16min).
At Bremen Hbf (main station) take the bus 630 in the direction “Bahnhof Süd, Zeven” and leave the bus at the station “Bademühlen Großes Holz” in Badenstedt (Zeven) after 65min.
From bus station “Bademühlen Großes Holz”
After leaving the bus, walk 200m in the opposite direction of travel along the road. On the other side of the road is a red brick building, your accommodation, the Schullandheim Badenstedt.

More Information about train and bus connections: www.bahn.com.

Additional comments

Please note: There is a special Teenage Fee of 150€ for international volunteers who apply under 18 in this camp