Next-Gen | Volunteer Projects
Back

Argenta ESC

Po Delta Park, Italy

In partnership with

The volunteer proposal is the result of the meeting and collaboration of IBO Italy with the Agritourism Prato Pozzo in Argenta (Ferrara), the Boscoforte s.r.l. Company of Taiano (VA), Consorzio di Bonifica Painura di Ferrara, and Po Delta Park - Emilia Romagna. The Agritourism Prato Pozzo began its activity in 1990 by going to renovate an old family farm. It is located south of the Comacchio Valleys inserted in the territory of the Delta Po Park - Emilia Romagna.
It offers, in addition to accommodation and catering, various services for children and adults aimed at discovering nature and the delta territory:
- Birdwatching: nature trail for observation and photography in Nature.
- Mountain biking: service for moving around the area of the Comacchio Valleys.
- Educational Farm: reception of school groups for workshops on the life of bees and the natural balance between animals and vegetation of the Comacchio Valleys area.
- Camargue Delta white horses welcome point
- Sport fishing: there are ponds for sport fishing where a small fish farm takes place.
- Agri-camping area


Description of the Work

Volunteers will be involved in:
- minor nature trail maintenance activities in the Agritourism Prato Pozzo area with pregnant paint painting to the wooden boundary fences and wooden birdwatching perches;
- general maintenance of part of the trail within Boscoforte;
- environmental and nature education activities
- Visit to the Comacchio Salt Pans
- Cleaning of the Marina di Ravenna pine forest


Accommodation & Food

Volunteers will be housed in a facility within the Prato Pozzo area with 3 communal bedrooms, 3 bathrooms with showers, self-catering kitchen.


Location & Leisure

Possibility of visiting Comacchio, the Lidi Ferraresi, Ravenna, Ferrara.

The landscape of the Comacchio Valleys offers unlimited horizons where water intersects with thin tongues of vegetation consisting of willows, poplars, reeds, tamarisk hedges, succulent Salicornia and Salsola ...
In all this scenery, the main protagonists are the birds that in every season of the year frequent these environments for the extraordinary wealth of food and shelter. It is the most important wetland complex in Italy, and migrators transiting from northern to southern Europe stop in these areas to breed or to spend the winter: Pink Flamingoes, Winter White Herons mingle with Grey Herons while in summer come Red Herons, Avocets and Black-winged Stilts and Royal Pythids …
The hand of man is not exempt from having contributed to the conformation of this enchanting setting: the infrastructure for fishing and eel processing, but above all the presence of an extensive salt marsh dating back to Etruscan times, the cause of conflicts over control of the production of the “white gold” until the time of the Venetian and pre-Napoleonic Republics, functioned until the end of the last century.
Now both activities have ceased or almost ceased: the risk of eelgrass extinction and the no longer market cost of the salt produced have led to the cessation of these economies. But presence of basins with variable salinity is continuing to contribute greatly to the development of an extraordinary biodiversity, and for this reason attempts are made to maintain their hydraulic functionality, but also their historical memory and naturalistic usability.
The Comacchio Valleys are also the realm of silence, the tranquility of open expanses, interrupted by the unmistakable calls of winged inhabitants.
Within the Comacchio Valleys, the Boscoforte s.r.l. Society owns one of the most interesting naturalistic settings in the Po Delta Park, the Boscoforte Wildlife Oasis, part of which is open to regulated tourist use, with equipped trails and observation points for bird-watching and nature photography.
In this environment, the balance between Nature and human presence is delicate. It is necessary to know it in order to respect it.
The camp stems precisely from the need to make this area usable in a respectful and safe way through the maintenance of guided trails aimed at nature lovers who especially in the summer period are numerous. The goal is to involve Italian and international young people with group volunteer activities both manual and environmental education to empower them to a consciousness of belonging “to the common house.”


Host Organization

IBO Italia is a non-governmental organization (NGO), non-profit organization engaged in international cooperation and voluntary work in Italy and worldwide. A world where everybody has an education, so that they can freely choose whether to live where they are or elsewhere. A society where each individual feels a responsibility towards other people and the common good: this is the dream of IBO Italia. A IBO Italia workcamp can be a first step towards facing the world of volunteering and international cooperation, but it is also an opportunity to widen the horizons and to increase your awarness as for yourself as for the world. The workcamp will leave a mark in your life: it will accompany you for the future giving you a different point of view on things. #volontarisidiventa | @ibo_italia https://www.instagram.com/ibo_italia/ | @IBOItalia https://www.facebook.com/IBOItalia | info@iboitalia.org IBO Italia è una Organizzazione Non Governativa impegnata nel campo della cooperazione internazionale e del volontariato in Italia e nel Mondo. Il nostro sogno è un mondo dove ognuno possa avere un’educazione e una formazione che lo renda libero di scegliere di vivere nel proprio territorio come altrove. Una società in cui tutti si sentano ugualmente responsabili verso gli altri e verso il bene comune. Un Campo di Lavoro e Solidarietà con IBO Italia può rappresentare un primo passo per affacciarsi al mondo del volontariato e della cooperazione internazionale, ma è anche un’occasione per allargare i propri orizzonti quotidiani. Il campo lascerà un segno nella tua vita: ti accompagnerà per il futuro regalandoti uno sguardo diverso sulle cose. #volontarisidiventa | @ibo_italia https://www.instagram.com/ibo_italia/ | @IBOItalia https://www.facebook.com/IBOItalia | info@iboitalia.org