Naturpark Barnim A Nature Reserve of Land Brandenburg and Land Berlin
	Workcamps of International Youth Community Services

This organisation offers an international youth exchange programme which allows young people from all around the world to gain experience in many countries. One possibility to take part in this exchange programme is the registration for a work camp in a certain country where they work on several projects to get to know the country and its inhabitants. The main emphasis of the work camps is to promote international understanding and communication. For these camps, the ijgd is looking in the respective countries for partners and for projects young people may register for. Since 2001, Nature Park Barnim is one of these partners. Projects that have already been completed were the construction of winter accommodations for bats or the removal of American black-cherry trees that had hindered the growth of indigenous trees in our region.

Workcamp 2005 in the forest district of Lanke (BAR) This year's work camp in Nature Park Barnim takes place from July 25 until August 10. It is already the fifth work camp and - as all the other before - is realised in close cooperation with the organisation International Youth Community Services. All thirteen teenager who take part in the work camp are accommodated in the former forestry office in Lanke. As in the years before, this year's work camp is also a very international one, the participants come from the Czech Republic, from France, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey. They work on a number of nature conservation projects, e.g. cleaning of marsh areas from reed and grass in order to offer a habitat to a variety of native orchid species, clearing of black cherry trees and locust trees to guarantee effective fire prevention, and marking of all paths that can be used by hikers and other nature lovers. In all these projects they are advised and assisted by experts from the forest districts of Berlin and, of course, by the rangers of the nature park. All necessary materials and tools are made available to the work campers by the forestry office in Pankow.

Workcamp 2004 in Zepernick (BAR) From July 17th until August 8th, 2004, the fourth work camp in the nature park Barnim takes place. This year, 14 teenagers from Armenia, Germany, Finland, France, Korea, Russia and Turkey are guests of the municipality of Zepernik. The clubhouse of the sports club serves as accommodation. It is situated near to the suburban line station and to the place the teenagers work at. The goal of this year's work camp is to re-establish the beauty of the former Robert-Koch-Park in Zepernik. After a decade of neglect, this park was completely overgrown, but now, an organisation wants to support its preservation. With the help of the work camp, a first step is made in order to make the area of the Park usable again. To see what the participants experience during the three weeks of the work camp, click here.

Workcamp 2003 in Schönwalde (BAR) Hosts of the work camp were the municipality of Schönwalde, the Naturpark Barnim and the head forestry office of Bernau. 16 young persons from Russia, Poland, Estonia, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany had come to get to know the natural park and to carry out nature conservancy projects and work for the municipality. Projects were, e.g., the setting-up of an educational forest garden ("Wald-Lehr-Garten") in the forestry area of Schönwalde, the building of barriers in the nature reserve "Tegeler Fließtal", and the controlling of the black cherry in the local forest. A detailed Report you can find here.

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