From 8th to 27th August 2025, young volunteers from across Europe gathered in Kryoneri Korinthias, Greece, for the Act Green 2 team volunteering project, coordinated by FILOXENIA, Intercultural-Environmental Organization and supported by the European Solidarity Corps (ESC).
Over 20 days, participants from diverse countries and backgrounds worked together to restore and maintain forest trails, learning how to collaborate, respect each other, and live as a team. The project combined environmental action with cultural exchange: volunteers organized workshops and events for the local community, shared their traditions, cooked traditional dishes, and presented their countries through music, dance, and storytelling.
The program began with an “on arrival” seminar, helping participants get to know each other, followed by excursions around the area and free time for exploring. This mix of work, learning, and leisure fostered friendship, teamwork, and intercultural understanding.
Supported by the European Solidarity Corps through the Greek National Agency INEDIVIM, Act Green 2 offered volunteers a unique opportunity to contribute to the environment while celebrating diversity and community engagement.
Here's the youtube video made by one of our volunteers, Sude Isler, for this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojG5TpeCUaA
Article written by the Portugal participants (Joana Bordalo)
Act Green was an overdose of nature, calmness and figs. We worked as a team and put our hands-on experience in the natural environment of Greece. We immersed our souls in the Greek culture, food and sea. Krioneri was home for our group for 20 full days, and with humility, we took care of it.
Article written by the Slovak participants
"Act Green – Summer volunteer experience in Greece full of friendship, gyros and sun"
With lots of excitement, high expectations and a little bit of fear of unknown, 7 girls from Slovakia came, after a long and an exhausting journey, to a cozy village in Greece – Kryoneri to volunteer in a project of European Solidarity Corps. We found the accommodation very pretty, with spaciously rooms, pleasurable living room and yard space. This was going to be our home for next 3 weeks.
First days were dedicated to getting to know each other and to discover surrounding area. We became very friendly with each other which made whole experience enjoyable. We met people from Spain, Portugal, Austria, Czechia, Turkey and Greece.
The main aim of the project was to clean and open touristic paths. Firstly we got familiar with the necessary tools and then we could start working. The work itself was not rough, but it was quite challenging to work during the peak-temperature hours. That lead us to an amazing idea: we built a small pool inside the stream in the forest we worked in. I have to admit, I swam in this stream more times than in the sea.
When talking about the sea, it is worth to mention another huge adventure we experienced – hitchhiking. Since the village was maybe 20 minutes by car apart from the beach, the only possible way to reach Kiato was to hitchhike. We rated it as one of the funniest experience and we also met some nice local people.
So we didn´t work only! We had some free days which we enjoyed to the fullest. Our first „holiday“ lasted 4 days, so 10 of us rented cars and we went for some amazing trips, discovering Peloponnese region. Next free days were in a row of 3 so some of us went to Athens, the others stayed in the hostel or went for day trips.
Last days of the project we spent in the village, working and enjoying time together, swimming in „the pool“ and becoming slightly nostalgic about this project.
Finally, I would like to say this was an extraordinary experience which we will remember forever. We discovered new culture, met locals, tried traditional Greek food, made new friends, survived working in Greek-summer temperatures, but also learnt something new about ourselves individually and gained lots of new knowledge, interpersonal skills and unmistakable experience.
Article written by the Spain participants (Pablo, Álvaro, and Hugo)
"Our own experience in Act Green II - 2025 (Kryoneri, Greece)"
During August 2025, we had the opportunity to participate in the "Act Green II - 2025" project of the European Solidarity Corps from August 8th to 27th. We moved from Murcia, a southeast city in Spain, to Kryoneri, a small village on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece where the project took place.
Young people from different European countries—including Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic, and Portugal—lived there for 20 days, forming a multicultural group with a shared purpose: to contribute to the care of the town's natural environment and promote values of sustainability and cooperation. Elisson Hostel became our home during that pleasant period, a quiet and cozy place surrounded by nature.
The first three days were dedicated to group dynamics and team-building activities, which proved very effective in getting to know each other better, breaking the ice, and creating an atmosphere of trust and well-being among all the participants.
The following day we received training on the rural maintenance tasks we would be performing, as well as on how to use the gardening tools we would use in our work. With this training, we began collaborating in the maintenance of the garden near our accommodation and in the cleaning and preservation of Kryoneri's natural footpaths.
Our work extended from the areas closest to the hostel to deeper locations, such as the riverside that runs through the village, and also to higher elevations, such as the trails leading to Karamanos Cave, a landmark in the area.
In addition to our environmental work, the project offered us the opportunity to discover the cultural and natural richness of Greece, with its cuisine, language, and traditions. In fact, we took Greek classes, where we learned common expressions to communicate with the locals in a closer and friendlier way. With the pocket money we received, we visited historical and coastal sites such as Nafplio, Corinth, Pefkali, Patras, and Athens itself, where we were able to enjoy its heritage, cuisine, and Mediterranean atmosphere.
But without a doubt, the most valuable aspect was the daily interaction: we shared meals, board games, trips, good conversations, and moments of laughter and fellowship that strengthened the bonds between us all. This human connection, in an innovative, multicultural summer environment, combined with contact with nature and the collaborative spirit of the project, made Act Green II - 2025 an unforgettable and transformative experience.
Article written by the Czech Republic participant (Lukas Brokenicky)
"Act Green 25"
From August 8 to 27, I participated as the only Czech participant in the project “Act Green 25”, which took place in the village of Kryoneri on the Greek Peloponnese. Altogether, there were 14 participants from Austria, Slovakia, Spain, and Portugal.
The main focus of our project was the maintenance and cleaning of hiking paths around the village. Our working days started at 10:00 a.m. and ended at 2:00 p.m. After work, we usually had a siesta or joined an afternoon activity. While working, we learned how to cooperate in an international team and at the same time take care of the local nature, which was a very valuable experience.
The project also included Greek language lessons and various activities supporting cultural understanding, including the Intercultural Night, when each participant introduced their country, traditions, and favorite food to the others.
We often spent our free afternoons by the local stream, where we built a small pool, or hitchhiking to the nearby seaside town of Kiato. Since there were no buses running, hitchhiking was practically the only way to get to the town quickly.
During the first free weekend, we rented a car and went on a trip around the area. We visited the fortress of Acrocorinth with its stunning views of the mountains and the sea, stopped by the impressive Corinth Canal, walked among the ancient ruins of Mycenae, and enjoyed the atmosphere of the port city of Nafplio. Along the way, we also discovered several smaller but equally impressive natural and historical sites.
The following weekend, part of the group went to Athens, but since I had already been there before, I decided instead to join a trip to Patras. We also walked from Kryoneri to Kiato, which was about a 16-kilometer route, with the beach in Kiato as a well-deserved reward after a long hike from the mountains.
Overall, participating in the “Act Green 25” project was not only about work but also a culturally and experientially enriching opportunity. I made new friends from across Europe, tasted authentic Greek cuisine, and was able to explore the beauty of the Peloponnese up close. These three weeks remain in my memory as a combination of volunteering, adventure, and international friendship worth every minute spent under the sun and on the trails of the Greek mountains.
Article written by the Austrian participant (Maximilian Thomann and Philipp Schönherr)
Act Green was a great opportunity to get to know many new people as well as a new country and its culture. Besides of the work, which offered many new and valuable experiences to us, we had much fun in our free time and got to know some different places in Greece. Through our teamwork we helped to make Kryoneri a little more beautiful and did some important things regarding the protection of its nature. Additionally, the work taught us some great lessons about working in a team with loads of new people and how to handle different difficulties. We are very grateful for this valuable time and the great memories!
This project was supported by the European Solidarity Corps of the European Union through the National Agency “INEDIVIM”.
