Youth exchange „Back to the nature“
Conneforde, Garnholt and Dangast Germany
17th
August – 27th
of August 2015
Germany
NaturKultur e.V. invites you to Youth Exchange from Erasmus + programme “Back to the
nature” that will be held in Germany.
Basics
Dates: 24th
of July – 3rd of August, 2015
Partner countries: Germany, Norway, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Luxemburg, Estonia.
Number of participants: 50 (6 per country + 1 group leader per country)
Gender balance: Each country has to maintain gender balance 50-50 on boys and girls. If not possible to
have the balance, group leaders have to coordinate so the balance of all the countries is maintained.
Age of participants: 18-25 (1-2 exceptions per country are allowed 14-17 or 26-30)
Aims and objectives for the exchange:
On this youth exchange we want to address the
situation where young people remain indoors and that
is how they spend their leisure and free time. They are
children of the first e-generations which grew up in
environment of computers, I-pods, internet, facebook,
play stations and playing games like Counter Strike and
can stay in front of the computer for 12 hours in a row.
These generations avoid going out and having fun with
simple things like hiking, kayaking, or camping in the
nature. They dont go anywhere without their I-pads,
mobile phones and laptops and even when they are
out they are constantly on facebook, twitter and so on.
With this project we want to make being outdoor fun. We want to do with them all fun things
that can be made outdoor, and to teach them to do many things like setting up a tent, making a
camp fire, making nice barbecue and teach them some "outdoor" recipes. We want to play
water games with them in different water sports. We also want to teach them how to fish and
how to use the fishing rod, how they can make it themselves at home (but also that the fish
should go back in the lake after the wound from the hook being treated). We want to show
how much fun is to climb the trees and to take a ride on a line over the lake. We want to teach
them basics about hiking and how to take care of
themselves while hiking. We want to rent 50 bikes and to do
really nice bike tours and to show them the rural Germany
point of view and how beautiful it is apart from the airports,
good roads, technology and the auto companies that they
have. Basically we want to make outdoor fun for them, so
when they get home they will know how to do it
themselves, and they will remain outdoors with their friends
more instead of playing games in front of the computer.
On the other side we want to give them information about the environment, about how the
food that we eat every day is being produced and what does it contain inside and what are all
these words and abbreviations what we read on the products content. We want to make them
aware about how much trash we produce every day and what happens with that trash. We
want to make them aware about how we destroy the nature around us and how much of the
forests are already gone, or how much of the polar glaciers are already gone. We want to
inform them about how people have destroyed the environment. We want to make them
aware about how animals are being treated, how they are captive and full with antibiotics
because their immune systems are not working, and how we with eating this meat
But at the same time we want to show them how
we can change and make out planet better place
for all. How can we have sustainable behavior and
educate our families and friends in producing less
trash and creating fewer waists. We want to take
them to happy chicken farm where the chicken are
out whole day and playing and running, or to happy
cow farm where the cows are outside whole day.
We want to explain to the youngsters about some
of these ingredients that are bad for the health but
they are in many products that we use every day - such as aluminum that we ingest with using
cans every day, or the aluminum that is in the deodorants that we use, or different additives
that are being used in the food to make it soft and taste better, but they are mad for the body.
We want to show them what can they do in order to protect our planet, and how they can
protect our rain forests, GMO food not to spread, and to have proactive and constructive
behavior in order to preserve our planet.
Venues:
We are going to be accommodated and 3 different camping sites:
1. Conneforde
"Holiday park on Bernstein lake" is located between Ammerland and the Jade. The cornerstone of the
present holiday park was laid about 40 years ago by family Brumund, since the plant from year to year
has grown steadily until now and been modernized.
The Holiday park on Bernstein lake have been awarded in recent years, several major awards from
major organizations such as the ADAC and the state of Lower Saxony. Now-a-days we are called short
stay as welcome as permanent campers and day visitors. A campsite, a wonderful lake and many other
offerings are available in our camp.
2. Garnholt
3. Dangast
This beach campsite Dangast is located directly at the Jade Bay and the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea
National Park, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The sandy beach, the magnificent tidal flats of
the Jade Bay makes visitors coming back to a new experience.
Please keep in mind that they are camping sites and we are all going to sleep in tents in the camping
sites.
Food and dining
We are going to have three meals per day: Breakfast, lunch
and dinner. Keep in mind that everyone needs to help with
preparation of the food. Setting up the tables, preparing the
food, taking the trash will be all of ours responsibility. We are
going to be one big family that is supposed to help and
support each other.
We will have two options – vegetarian and food with meat.
Unfortunately we cannot provide vegan or fruitarian food. If
there are participants that don’t eat pork, the food with meat is going to be without pork. Keep in mind
that the food is going to be camping food prepared outdoor most of the times:
Breakfast would be cold and typical German: salami, cheese, musli, bread, butter, jam, Nutella and some
veggies.
Lunch is going to be sometimes cold sometimes warm –
different kinds of soup or stew, sandwiches, pasta or noodles.
Dinner is going to be warm – barbecue, veggies mix, sausages,
soup or stew, pasta or rice with meat or veggies.
We are going to use environmentally friendly disposable paper
plates, and cutlery that we can wash.
Sanitary facilities:
We are going to be using the camping facilities for showering, going to the toilet or washing hands.
Every participant has the responsibility to bring his own towel and shower gel or shampoo. Hand soap,
toilet paper and hand towels will be provided by the organizers.
Weather in North Germany:
Germany's climate is almost as varied as its country but it is mostly
temperate. Extreme temperature lows and highs are rare. Summer
temperatures are typically between 20°C and 30°C, with more rainfall
during the summer months.
Frequent changes of weather make forecasting difficult. To be on the safe
side, be sure to bring a sweater and wet weather clothing with you.
Due to the influence of the sea, the climate around the Baltic and the North Coast is fairly reliable and
with little variation. In contrast to inner Germany, the difference between seasons is less distinct.
Summers are warm and pleasant. Rain showers are frequent but do not last too long: the sunshine index
is high, whilst the amount of rainfall guarantees a green and fertile landscape.
Internet
As the overall goal would be to get back to the nature, we are not going to have any internet during the
project. Therefore please turn on your automatic email replies, let your parents know that they can
communicate with you with SMS and schedule important meetings for before/after the project.
What to bring:
- Sleeping bag and pillow
- Flashlight
- Drinking bottle
- At least two pairs of outdoor shoes
- Backpack (avoid suitcases and borrow backpack from a friend or relative)
- Small backpack (to carry the daily necessities)
- Towel for beach, and normal towel
- Bathing suit
- Slippers or sandals
- Waterproof jacket or cape (for summer)
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses and some hat
THE TRAVEL ESSENTIALS
IMPORTANT: Please check if you need visa for Germany. If you do, please contact us
immediately, because the visa procedure can be lengthy process.
Your task is to get to Conneforde Campsite on 17th
of August. There is a direct bus 330 from
Oldenburg ZOB (Bus station that is connected with the train station) that goes directly to the
campsite. If you are having challenges to arrive, the group leader should contact the organizers
for help.
Departure will be from Dangast on the 27th
of August from 5AM when is the first public bus that
goes to Oldenburg. Book your travels accordingly.
Estonia: There are flights Tallinn – Bremen with Ryan air. www.ryanair.com. Optionally you can
see connections from Riga.
Macedonia: Wizzair (www.wizzair.com) is flying from Skopje to Hamburg, Cologne and
Dortmund.
Norway: Norwegian air shuttle is flying from Alta to Hamburg. The travel costs allowances are
quite low, so we would advise a pretty fast booking of the tickets.
Belarus: there is a flight from Vilnius to Bremen with Ryan air. Wizzair is flying from Warsaw to
Dortmund.
Georgia: Only commercial flights can be found from Tbilisi to Hamburg for relatively acceptable
price. Hannover, Hamburg or Dortmund should also be considered to fly to.
Luxemburg: Since the distance is less than 500km, we are suggesting a train or bus ride.
www.flixbus.de or www.bahn.de
Travel costs limit: Be aware that Erasmus + is a co-financing program, so if you exceed the limit on
your travel costs, each participant has to cover the difference themselves.
Estonia = 170€
Macedonia = 170€
Norway= 270€
Belarus= 170€
Georgia= 400€
Luxemburg = 80€
According to the rules from NA in Germany, is it acceptable to come/leave up to 4 days prior or after the
project. Every flight that is more than this time limit would not be accepted by NA, and therefore we
cannot reimburse it. However, when you want you can use these 4 days to travel around the region.
Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover are really beautiful cities that are worth seeing. Please note that we
are not responsible for your travels before or after the project, so all costs for accommodation, food and
travelling are going to be on your own expense.
Reimbursement of travel costs: The travel costs reimbursements are going to be made after the
project. We are going to transfer directly to the partner organization. So please keep all your tickets
since it is not possible to reimburse tickets that were lost or misplaced. Each participant needs to send
all tickets and boarding passed after the project with description of every ticket to the following address
NaturKultur e.V Drosselweg 1a, 26215 Wiefelstede, Germany. Transfer of money will be made within
two weeks of receipt of tickets.
MISCELLANEOUS
Insurance:
Every participant should have valid travel insurance for Germany during your stay on the project. This
means that when you don’t have your own insurance, the organizer doesn’t bear any responsibilities
towards the participants. That is why every participant should timely purchase their own insurance.
ATM & cash: In Germany all major credit and debit cards are accepted. However, Conneforde and
Garnhold are really small places and there will be no ATMs(there are no ATMs at the campsite). At the
Camp no cards are accepted so make sure that you have some cash with you when you need something
from the bar or to buy some drinks.
Shopping list
If you have forgotten anything at home i.e. toothbrush or deodorant, we will have a shopping list. You
can leave money with the person responsible for shopping and we will get it for you within 24 hours.
Housekeeping
Since the venue is a camp, it means that everyone is responsible for taking care of the place and all
participants will contribute to making it clean and nice for everyone.
THE PROGRAM
Timetable:
Here is the general timetable. Please note that this is a draft – working version. By the start of the
exchange the timetable will be finalized and we will give you the final version upon arrival.
Tree climbing – In Conneforde there is “Kletterwald” or part of the forest that is made for climbing the
trees and having a lot of fun (http://www.forest4fun.de/). However this is not requirement for all
participants to do it. You are going to be tied with safety ropes, and given safety instructions.
Hiking to Garnholt: On the 29th
we are going to pack up our tents and we are going to hike to the
Garnholt village and set out tents there. The big back packs are going to be transported with a van,
however we are going to all walk to the village for several hours. We are going to visit animal farm on
the way. Be prepared for hike of several hours.
Biking to Dangast: We are going to rent 50 bikes and we are going to bike from Garnholt to Dangast
which is several hours of biking trough the beautiful landscapes of North Germany. The big backpacks
are going to be transported with van again, and we are going to set up the tents in the campsite in
Garnholt.
Preparation for national evening:
Each delegation is responsible for preparing a one night national evening event. You should prepare a
program that is not going to be longer than 1h. You will present your country in front of the other
participants and for people from the local community who are supporting this project with logistics.
You should bring brochures and promotional materials about your country. You can play national music
and teach your friends from other countries the national dances of your country. You can make quizzes
and lottery games. You can bring food, snacks and drinks for everyone to try your typical food. Keep in
mind there will be around 50 people. Do what you think is the best way to present your country, but
please try to make it as interactive as possible and involve the rest of the participants.
Contacts:
When you need more information or question about the project please contact:
Darko - Project responsible [email protected]
+49176 65646848
Svenja – German group coordinator, organizer and logistics manager
+4915202911880
