Animal and plant protection in northern German moor and heathland areas

CODE: ijgd 15005

Work:

Would you like to make an important contribution to the conservation of moors and heaths and their animals and plants? Then this workcamp in the beautiful countryside of northern Germany between Bremen and Hamburg is the right place for you. You will work with your workcamp group in seven protected areas. In the fauna-flora-habitat areas (FFH - habitat of animals and plants protected under EU law) and nature reserves (NSG) “Bullensee und Hemelsmoor”, “Hohes Moor”, “Großes Moor” and “Feerner Moor”, you will remove sawn-off trees and shrubs from former peat-cutting areas to create habitats for endangered and peat-relevant plant species such as Bult peat moss, cranberry and smooth snake. In the landscape conservation area (LSG) "Stellingsmoor", your group will clear sensitive moor areas in order to preserve moor development and the habitat for the protected smooth snake. In the “Swatte Flag” nature reserve (NSG) you will clear a protected shallow water body for dragonflies and check bat boxes in the “Beverner Wald” nature reserve.
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.
Cooperation partners for this work camp are the Office for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management of the Rotenburg and Stade districts and the NABU Bremervörde-Zeven and Stade district groups.

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 Office for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management of the Rotenburg and Stade districts and the NABU Bremervörde-Zeven and Stade district groups to coordinate and initiate necessary measures.

Directions to meeting point

Meeting point and time: at accommodation until 6:45pm on 13/09/2025
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 applied under 18 in this camp