Youth Workcamp along the European Green Belt in Titschendorf in Germany connected young people
The BESTbelt youth work camp in Thuringia brought young people from across the world together through practical conservation, intercultural exchange and encounters between generations connected to the European Green Belt.
From 1 – 8 August 2026, young people from Hungary, Germany, India, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the USA came together in Titschendorf, Thuringia, for an international youth work camp along the European Green Belt. The camp has been organized in the framework of the BESTbelt project ‘Borders separate – Nature unites: European Green Belt Youth Encounters’. Through practical conservation activities, participants worked side by side in mountain meadows, learned traditional scything techniques and contributed directly to maintaining valuable habitats. Visits to the Border Station Museum in Probstzella and excursions along the European Green Belt between Thuringia and Bavaria offered insights into the region’s unique habitats and landscape.
Designed primarily for young people, the work camp also opened its doors to older local volunteers day guests, who shared their experiences of living in the former restricted area and today´s efforts in preserving nature. With participants and guests ranging from 10 to 73 years old, the work camp created opportunities to exchange experiences across countries, cultures and generations and different relationships to the former border landscape.
The European Green Belt served as the connecting thread throughout the work camp, linking past and future, nature and people, young and old, and different cultures and perspectives. A landscape once shaped by division became a place, where people could meet, learn and work together for a shared future.
The project "Borders separate – Nature unites: European Green Belt Youth Encounters" is implemented by the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland, Landesverband Thüringen e.V. in collaboration with the Őrség National Park and the Šalovci county administration from October 2024 to September 2026 and is funded by the BESTbelt project.
For more information, please contact:
Karin Kowol, Project manager Green Belt, BUND Thuringia: k.kowol(at)bund-thueringen.de