TrailteamVolunteers | Thórsmörk Trail Volunteers

Nov 4

Thank you to our volunteers!

We would like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers who joined us in Thórsmörk this season. It was another amazing summer and we really do appreciate all the hard work that was done by our teams.

This year we were joined by 45 international volunteers and together we completed more than 200 weeks of trail maintenance and practical conservation tasks throughout Thórsmörk and Goðaland.

We do hope that everyone enjoyed their time with us at the volunteer camps and all those long sunny days out on the hiking trails.

Preparations for next season begin soon. Dates, details and application forms for our 2024 projects will be available here on December 15th.

Apr 24

Out on the trails today…

Our trail surveys began with a hike in the sunshine on Valahnúkur today.

The trails are looking good after the winter, but there are plenty of exciting tasks ready for our Trailteams who will be joining us soon.

Jul 31

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Our friend Tony Newby

We were deeply saddened to hear the news that Tony Newby passed away on July 18th.

Tony was one of the founders of the Forest Service trail programme and had worked closely with our international volunteers for many years. In addition to programme development, Tony specialised in leadership training and gave his time generously to the establishment of the Thórsmörk programme. He brought invaluable experience from his career of managing conservation volunteers in the UK.

Since our arrival in Thórsmörk in 2013, Tony was at the centre of our team and had a huge influence on all those he worked with, trained and mentored over the years. He was a unique character and will be missed by his many Iceland friends.

We would like to offer our deepest sympathy to Tony‘s family and friends at this sad time.

2015 On the road to Básar

2017 With the volunteers

(Photographs by Andy Jefferies, Chas Goemans and Jade Alexis)

Aug 8

Trail work, tree planting and rain

The long sunny days of July already seem a long time ago as the start of August has brought us storms, growing rivers and lots of rain.

Despite the weather, progress has been very good, the team are still smiling and our work continues… with orange waterproofs close at hand.

Tree planting team at Tumastaðir Forestry Station (Michelle Pröstler)

Checking numbers and repainting trail markers on Laugavegurinn (Anna Mariager)

Hiding from the rain at our Langidalur hut (Nicolas Talou)

Our team heading out to work (Nicolas Talou)

Box steps on their way to Valahnúkur (Anna Mariager)

Rainy (but still beautiful) day at Langidalur (Nicolas Talou)

Tree planting at Tumastaðir (Rahel Paasch)

Bridge building at Langidalur (Nicolas Talou)

Sunshine on Valahnúkur (Theresa Schaber)

Dec 8

Trailteam at Langidalur

When the Forest Service trail programme began in Thórsmörk in 2013, our first challenge was to establish a base camp for the work and a site at Langidalur was chosen. Developed in close cooperation with Ferðafélag Íslands, the aim of the camp was to provide basic facilities for the volunteer teams who were camping in the area during the summer months including shelter for cooking and a dry space for the teams to use in the evenings. Conditions were very basic at the start, but Langidalur became our home.