Baltic Sea Archipelago Adventure Livonsaari Finland team 20.7.-4.8.26
Project
This volunteering team is organised in co-operation with Saariston Savotta which is a non-profit grassroots association with focus on upkeeping sustainable lifestyle and improving well-being and employment in Livonsaari.
The primary objective of the volunteering team is to highlight the significance of the Baltic Sea, emphasizing its ecological importance and the effects of human actions on coastal environment, while promoting practical, everyday steps toward environmental sustainability.
Description of work tasks
Volunteer tasks will be adaptable, tailored to local circumstances, weather conditions, and the needs of the community, including:
Gardening work
building with natural materials from archipelago region
Cooking with local harvest and produce from the Baltic sea region
Trip to neighbouring islands with a ferry, to see the local impact on nature
Getting to know local lifestyle and participate to daily tasks
Baltic sea inspired art and impacting through art
Trip to historical city of Turku
Co-operation with local youth activities
Learning about the impact of reed onto Baltic Sea ecosystem and various local reed usage innovations
Accommodation and food arrangements:
Volunteers will be accommodated in a simple shared flat. Sleeping outside in a tent or a hammock is also a possibility . There is a dry toilet. Shower with warm water is within a walking distance. It’s also possible to experience different Finnish saunas in the evenings.
Essential vegetarian ingredients will be provided with emphasis on sustainability through locally grown produce and fish when available, minimising waste and catering to individual dietary requirements as much as possible. Cooking will be a shared responsibility, with volunteers taking part in meal preparation as both a practical task and a way to build community.
Area description
Livonsaari is located in the beautiful Turku archipelago in the region of Southwest Finland 22km away from the nearest town Naantali and 35km from Turku city. Livonsaari is the last island connected to the mainland with bridges and the way here offers beautiful views over the part of Archipelago Sea, unique nature of the the largest archipelago in the world by the number of islands.
The island offers home to about 250 permanent residents and during the summer the island hosts up to 2000 summer residents.
There is a community village on the island Livonsaari that has been founded 2005. On the area people from all around moved from Finland and abroad, built 20 ecohouses and rented buildings as their homes. The community consists of about 100 members.
Description of possible leisure time activities:
In their free time, volunteers may enjoy:
Swimming by the sea and lake
Bathing in various different saunas
Naantali city (on a public bus, during day off)
Communal campfire nights and collaborative dinner preparation are part of the programme as well.
Informal social activities, reflection evenings and group time
Free-time activities will be shaped by what the group enjoys, the weather, and whatever the local area has to offer.
Additional remarks:
The programme is built to be flexible, adjusting to local circumstances and the needs of the community. Specific activities may change based on weather , venue and other factors but the underlying focus will remain constant — raising environmental awareness, encouraging active participation, and taking meaningful action for the Baltic Sea.
Travel connections, closest bus or train terminal, airport, distance from the capital city:
Turku is the nearest bigger city and you can reach Turku by plane, ferry, bus or train. Livonsaari is connected to Turku with limited bus connection on work days and there is network of car ride sharing from and to the island. We encourage travelling by land or sea so please check these options to reach Finland.
Participant profile:
We are searching for English speaking young volunteers of age 18-30 interested in being part of a community in the beautiful nature of the archipelago, open for manual work and “get their hands dirty” ready to go out of comfort zone, experiment, and explore!
It is important that the volunteers are interested in environmental issues and sustainable living. No previous experience is required, being active and open to learn is useful.
We encourage application from young people with less opportunities due to economic, social ,geographical or other barriers.
We are looking for 10 volunteers who will be chosen based on the application below. Fill in the form in English language. We wish for your genuine personal motivation and discourage the use of AI.
Application deadline is 27.5.2026 !