Feb 23
Pictures from our Langidalur Volunteer camp.
We look forward to returning to Thórsmörk and Goðaland in April to begin our preparations for the summer work programme. Earlier in February, there was still a lot of snow at our our camp. Weather conditions in the spring can have a huge effect on the trails and we will carry out surveys when we arrive back to decide where to focus our work for this season.
These pictures were taken by our friends at the Volcano Huts in Húsadalur.
Feb 19
After two busy months of planning, applications and interviews, our summer teams are now almost ready.
Once again, this season we have received a huge amount of interest in the placements and there have been some difficult decisions when making the selection. It is always very exciting to meet our new volunteers and discuss the summer plans and we are delighted to welcome back so many old friends to the team. In response to this season’s large number of strong applications, we have stretched the teams to include as many of them as possible.
Although places for our short-term teams in Thórsmörk have now been allocated, applications for our new long-term volunteer placements will remain open until March 31st. As well as projects in Thórsmörk and Goðaland, this new team of long-term volunteers will work alongside our colleagues and help maintain forest trails on other sites in South Iceland. These additional placements have been created to help increase our capacity for undertaking trail maintenance tasks in new project areas.
We will now begin to prepare the work tasks, equipment and materials for the season. We plan to escape from the office and return to Thórsmörk for preparations and trail surveys in April (when conditions allow) and our first volunteers will join us there and begin the practical work in May. We are very much looking forward to the summer ahead.
Jan 7
Our first days back at work this week have been busy with volunteer applications and interviews for the summer Trailteams and we are delighted to receive so much interest in our programme.
It has been very exciting to start putting together the teams and meet some of our new volunteers as well as catch up with old friends who will be joining us again in Thórsmörk this season. Interviews and placement allocations are now well underway and we are looking forward to another Trailteam summer.
The teams are already starting to fill up so if you are considering joining us, please do get in touch. Full details about our summer placements including dates and application forms can be found on our website. Applications will remain open until January 31st.
During the summer Trailteam projects, domestic tasks at our volunteer camps are shared between the teams. Our volunteers take part in organising the food and preparing the meals.
Facilities at our volunteer camps are basic but our volunteers are inventive and make some delicious food.
We have begun the search for volunteers for 2023 and applications are now open. Dates, details and application forms are available here… Volunteer opportunities
Here are some pictures from last season…
Nov 17
When we first arrived at Langidalur to begin work on the hiking trails in June 2012, it was impossible to imagine that we would still be there more than 10 years later.
Following the success of the pilot project in 2012, the Icelandic Forest Service (Skógræktin) created the seasonal Trailteam programme to help maintain and improve the area’s hiking trail network. Volunteer camps were established at both Langidalur and Básar and a 3-month summer programme of practical group projects has been developed. Although the focus of the work has always been trail-building, our teams are also involved in landscape restoration and tree-planting tasks.
Since the Trailteam programme began in 2013, approximately 420 international volunteers have joined our groups and together we have completed more than 2000 weeks of trail maintenance and nature conservation work throughout Thórsmörk and Goðaland. Returning each summer has allowed us to steadily develop trail building techniques that are suitable for the area and to improve our practical skills along the way.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has joined us out on the trails and supported us over an incredible ten years. There is still a huge amount of work to be done and we look forward to returning to the trails with our volunteers in 2023 and to many more Trailteam summers.
Pictures from last summer…
Information about our 2023 programme including placement dates and application forms will be available here on December 15th. Placement applications will be open from December 15th – January 31st.
Volunteer opportunities
Thórsmörk Trail Volunteers 