Básar | Thórsmörk Trailteam

May 6

Our first volunteers of 2016 are on their way…

The start of May is always a very exciting time for us, the first volunteers of the season arrive tomorrow to help with preparations at our Langidalur and Básar camps. We have a two week deadline to get everything ready before the start of our leaders training course and the arrival of the first teams.

Planned work for the first week includes tree planting and painting the volunteer hut at the Langidalur camp and constructing a new tent platform for our volunteers at Básar. Our second week will focus on data gathering, mapping and survey work on the trails as well as cutting the trees that were damaged during the winter.

Our summer start now…

Apr 9

Back to the valley…

After a long winter away, we are very excited to be getting back to Thórsmörk.

Our teams are now ready and preparations in Iceland begin next week with gathering equipment, tools and work materials for the summer. The Langidalur base camp will open on May 1st as planned, and the first team of international volunteers will join us on May 8th.

We plan to use the first project weeks to improve signs and trail markers ahead of the main tourist season. From June, as well as returning to many familiar work sites, we intend to increase our long-range projects so that we can work on new remote sites throughout the area. That means that we will be forming more teams and organising additional wilderness camps this summer.

On Monday we will begin pre-departure Skype meeting for all volunteers joining us in May and June. The aim of these meetings is to go over travel plans, check equipment and answer any final questions.

We look forward to meeting our new team soon!

Feb 29

Student “conservation days” in Thórsmörk this summer…

International school hiking groups are a familiar site in Thórsmörk during the summer months, as they complete the Laugavegurinn hiking trail. This season, groups from the organisation World Challenge will be stopping-off to join our volunteer teams in Langidalur for a series of nature conservation days.

These groups are a welcome boost to our planned summer activities. The aim of these days is to include visiting school groups in environmental protection work in the area and to introduce them to practical conservation tasks. Projects will be guided by Forest Service (Skógrækt ríkisins) staff and volunteer team leaders who will work alongside the groups.

As well as hands-on work, the groups will learn about nature conservation in Iceland, explore the area and experience life at our volunteer base camp. This season, the teams will focus on erosion control work as well as the on going trail maintenance tasks. The activities will give participants an insight into the management of nature conservation areas in Iceland.

We are very excited about this new partnership and very much look forward to working with the World Challenge teams this summer.