Pomeranian Baltic Team Germany 26.6.-11.7.26

Host Organization

Kultur und Initiativenhaus Greifswald is a large organisation active in various areas of social, cultural and educational work. Projects of the association are versatile including international cooperation in the region Pomerania and an interdisciplinary educational project for global learning. Turbina Pomerania is one of several projects of the Kultur und Initiativenhaus Greifswald.

Turbina Pomerania’s goal is to promote cross-border cooperation through non-formal education and through the exchange of young volunteers in our region. We are a small project with only 4 employees, sending and hosting international volunteers with the European Solidarity Corps. We have a lot of experience with international youth exchanges and look forward to spending time with you in our region, learning about the Baltic sea, its vulnerability and how to protect it.

"CODE Sea – Pomeranian Baltic Team"

Concrete Deeds for the Baltic Sea (CoDe Sea) aims at making people around Baltic Sea region more aware of their sea being one of the most polluted seas in the world and creating collective action to protect it. 

Our goal is to address the topic of Baltic Sea protection from different perspectives:

• Political: We will visit the state parliament in our state capital city and meet with the mayor of Greifswald.

• Scientific: We will visit the island of Vilm where international scientists are working in baltic sea research. We will also make a trip to Rostock and the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), where we will visit the research vessel Elisabeth Mann Borgese. 

• Nature Protection Organisations: we will meet professionals in the field of environmental protection.

• Last but not least we will take action and organize some hands-on activities in the field of Baltic sea protection.

Accommodation and food arrangements

The volunteers will be accommodated in three different places. We will be together as a group in simple-standard and shared rooms. 

We will prepare and cook all the meals by ourselves, so everyone will  contribute to cooking and cleaning. The food will be vegan/vegetarian.

Glashagen Manor House is located between Grimmen and Stralsund in the small village of Glashagen. This will be our second group accommodation, after having spent two nights in Greifswald. 

After Glashagen, we will move to the Rügen Group House which is located in Altefähr, on the island of Rügen. This will be our third and last group accommodation. 

It is  important to note that we have a strict no alcohol/ no drugs policy.

Locations and leisure time

Greifswald and Stralsund are cities close to the Baltic Sea. 

In leisure time volunteers will have plenty of options to do and explore. We will also have the opportunity to relax and enjoy nature.

Together with the municipality of Greifswald we will join an anti-littering initiative where we help collect waste and discove the environmental impact of littering. We will  learn about the microplastics and how to repurpose material into beautiful creations. 

During our stay in the Glashagen group house we will not have access to the coast, but during our stay at the Rugen group house we will, as it is not far from the beach. Not far from the group houses is also the island of Rügen, Germany’s biggest island with its beautiful nature. 

Before our trip from Lauterbach to Vilm, we will also have a hike or bike tour of the restored stone reef in Neuendorf and a picnic where we will indulge in local delicacies. 

Greifswald and Stralsund are very old Hanseatic cities with typical architecture. In summer, the area is very touristy. Volunteers will also have the time to explore the beautiful city of Greifswald.

Finally, we arranged for our volunteers to enjoy the Eldenaer Jazz Evenings, a music event for jazz enthusiasts from all over Germany and beyond at the Eldena Monastery ruins in Greifswald. 

Travel arrangements / How to get to Greifswald

We encourage all the volunteers travel by land and sea, but in case you decide to fly the closest airports to Greifswald are Berlin and Hamburg.

It takes approximately 3 hours by train from Berlin to Greifswald and about 4 hours from Hamburg . There is also FlixBus connection. 

Participant’s profile

We are looking for 18-30 year old volunteers from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Sweden and  Ukraine. This project is for openminded and motivated young people who are interested in nature protection,  practical work and group activities. You should be able to speak basic English for communication purposes. You are encouraged to apply without any earlier international experiences, we are not looking for experienced volunteers, but those who are willing to learn, contribute, share and take care for themselves and the group. As a volunteer, everyone is expected to take active part in the daily  chores such as food preparation and cleaning. 

Young people with fewer opportunities are very welcome to join. Fewer opportunities include disabilities, health problems, educational or cultural differences, social or economic barriers, barriers linked to discrimination, geographical barriers. 

We are looking for 10  volunteers who will be chosen based on the application below. We wish for your genuine personal motivation and discourage  to use AI to produce it..

Application deadline is  until 10.5.
 

Our policy on inclusion

We want to make this volunteering a nice experience and a safe space for everyone. 

There’s no room for discrimination, assaults, transgressions of boundaries or patriarchal behaviours Any form of violations of boundaries, discrimination and violence are not welcome. This includes but is not limited to sexist, racist, ableist, anti-LGBTQI+, as well as other kinds of inhumane actions, attitudes and language.