Baikal baby trail

Project Dates: August 12 – August 25, 2008

Project Duration: Two weeks

Languages: Russian and English

Project Location: In the vicinity of Severobaikalsk (near Slyudyanskie Lakes, some 30 km south of Severobaikalsk), specifically on land managed by Echo Turbaza (a youth and tourist camp) and the Severobaikalsk County Administration,  Siberia, Russia

Setting: The project takes place at the north part of Lake Baikal, near Severobaikalsk, the region’s largest town. The town was founded in 1974 as part of the Baikal-Amur Railway (BAM in Russian) construction. One of the last grandiose construction projects of the Soviet Union days, BAM was an industrial railway meant to jumpstart economic development of Siberia. Construction crews from all over Russia built towns along the BAM route, blasted tunnels through inhospitable mountains, and erected bridges along the rivers. Many of these engineers, geologists and construction workers fell in love with Siberia and stayed on Baikal. Today Severobaikalsk is a regional cultural and manufacturing center. Attractions for tourists include: the BAM Museum, a folk art gallery, an art school, a folk theater, restaurants, cafes, and several hotels and B&B’s.

The project will take place at a Camp Echo, less than an hour’s drive from Severobaikalsk. Situated in the woods not far from Baikal, Camp Echo is between the shores of two smaller lakes. The lake water is warm enough for swimming, and the surrounding forest offers ample play areas for children. Camp Echo is right on the lake and has several dorm buildings, a central kitchen, pit toilets, bath house facilities with a solar shower and cold running water, and several camp-sites with covered picnic tables and fire rings.

Long-term Goal: Part of the over-all mission of GBT is to foster a love of nature in people of all ages, so that each individual will not only enjoy spending time outdoors, but take it upon him or herself to care for and protect the environment. In the first, formative years of a child’s life, healthy contact with the natural world can help form a life-long dedication to and appreciation of nature. We want to make it possible for families with young children to share the experience of living and working outdoors, where a daily rhythm of working, playing, doing crafts, cooking and eating meals together will be a refreshing holiday for both parents and children.

Project Work: Working on 500 meters of trail, clearing fallen trees and undergrowth, building a fire pit on the ECHO camp grounds with both adult and child-sized seating to be used as a family gathering place, creating wooden signs for trails and campsites; also learning and using recommended methods for raising environmentally-minded children.

Work Schedule: Six days a week everyone will work for four hours in the morning, with a mid-morning snack break. After a two-hour lunch break, the afternoon will be split between crafts with the children and trail work. In the evenings, there will be family games organized by the project leaders and translator. There will be two days off, one at the end of each week, during which special excursions will be planned.

Labor on the project will be assigned depending on the age and skills of each participant. There will be tasks for adults only (like carrying logs and installing benches), and work where parents and children can work side-by-side (like clearing branches from the trail, improving the trail, and making signs).

Parents and other adults will share childcare duties. Children will work helping on the trail and campsite, collecting firewood for two hours in the morning. The rest of the morning they will be playing games and other planned activities. In the afternoon, children will be involved in creative activities such as designing signs.

Meals and Accommodations: Families can choose to live in tents or in the four-person rooms of the lodge. There will be three hot meals a day cooked over a campfire, and everyone will share cooking and cleaning duties. The GBT staff will buy all necessary cooking products prior to the start of camp. If you need any special foods or medicines for your child, please bring those yourself.

Entertainment and Relaxation: During the days off there will be a trip to a Baikal family farm. Here we will have the opportunity to meet village people, ride horses, taste fresh milk and cheese, and mow hay.

Contribution Fee: 8900 Rubles per one parent and one child (approximately $360 US; please check the current exchange rate at http://www.cbr.ru/eng/currency_base/daily.asp. The contribution fee covers: a visa invitation from the GBT organization; meeting you at the airport or train station in Irkutsk and Severobaikalsk; helping to arrange your accommodation in Irkutsk and/or Severobaikalsk; visa registration with the Russian authorities; arranging transportation to Camp ECHO; transportation within the project; all meals on the project; services of a crew leader and interpreter during the project; all administrative expenses; project entertainment costs including the week-end excursion; tools and other equipment, including a tent or a room in the dorm. 100% of the project fee goes for direct project expenses.

Required Experience: None

Age Range: Children: 1 ½ – 10 years, Adults: any age

Additional Requirements:

Equipment to bring:

• Backpack – both a large one and a small day pack

• Sleeping bags and sleeping mats for each family member

• Swimming suit

• Dishes (for each person) – bowl, cup, spoon, knife

• Head cover such as a bandana

• Warm clothes including hat, warm socks, coat, sweater or fleece, warm pants. (It gets pretty chilly at night).

• Hiking boots and comfortable shoes – sneakers, slippers and/or sandals

• Raincoat

• Small pads for sitting on the ground for children. (Adults may find them useful as well.)

• Toiletries

• Individual medicines and mosquito repellent. (There will be a first aid kit for the group.)

• Games and songs for children to share with the group

• A laptop if possible – it could be helpful in our work

• Any special literature about children and nature, environmental education, young children, etc. that you would like to share

• Your own experience and enthusiasm

• Any information about your home and area (photos, books, maps, brochures, etc.). People here are interested in foreign life

• Photo or video camera

• Recipes or special ingredients for any of your traditional dishes you’d like to share for an international food party

Fitness: For adults, trail building  includes: walking 1 - 4 kilometers a day through forested areas, possibly with no paths; using pick, shovels, and other tools to dig out vegetation to make a path; lifting logs and other debris; hand sawing; and carrying tools.  For children it will involve painting signs, clearing brush, digging with small shovels, and other work not involving any heavy tools or equipment.

Transportation and Meeting Location: Severobaikalsk by train: From Irkutsk it is a 36 hour train ride and costs about 1,100 or 2,200 rubles depending on a cart class (about 50 or 100 US Dollars). Please see the current exchange rate at: http://www.cbr.ru/eng/currency_base/daily.asp

Severobaikalsk by plane:

From Irkutsk: about 3,000 rubles

From Ulan-Ude: about 2,800 rubles

Hydrofoil from Irkutsk about 2,000 rubles THIS IS A GREAT TRIP!!!

The group will meet  in the town, and travel together by car or bus to Camp Echo. The project leader will arrange transportation from Severobaikalsk to Camp Echo. We will notify all participants of the exact meeting time and place a few weeks before the start of the project.

Please note that your contribution fee does not include any expenses incurred while getting to the starting point of the project, the town of Severobaikalsk.

Important Visa Information: Every foreigner travelling through Russia has to comply with the obligatory visa registration process in any location where you stay for more than three business days. You will be registered in Severobaikalsk by the GBT office there. Since the project starts on August 12^th, volunteers need to be in Severobaikalsk by August 11^th in order to get registered through GBT. If you are travelling by train from Irkutsk, this means leaving Irkutsk by August 9^th.

You can contact us at gbt.volunteers@gmail.com – Tatiana Yourchenko.  

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the GBT volunteer application form

Project Personnel

Project Manager: Klavdia Vacilevna Selezneva, founder (in 1985) and director of the Camp Echo. Klavdia will be responsible for camp supplies, transportation, food, and equipment. Her 2-year-old grandson will take part in the project as well.

Responsibilities: The project manager is responsible for the overall planning, coordination and implementation of the project. You will have the opportunity to meet and talk with the manager, and she will be in frequent contact with the volunteer group throughout the project. However, she will not always be present at your project location, and your crew leader will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the project. 

Crew Leader: Anna Mar’yasova, GBT project crewleader 2004 -2006. Anna, Klavdia’s daughter, is a teacher at the School of Tourism and Environmental Education and a hiking instructor in Severobaikalsk. She will take a part  in the project with her (almost) 2-year old son, Mikhail.

Responsibilities: The main GBT staff member on the project, the crew leader coordinates the day-to-day trail work and the organization of the camp. 

Assistant Crew Leader: TBA.

Responsibilities: The Assistant Crew Leader will help the crew leader in the management of the project. 

Translator: TBA

Responsibilities: The translator is responsible for translating for the crew leader (who does not speak much English) and helping with communication between Russian and English speaking crew members. The translator also plans and conducts the social activities of the group. 

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