Dugnad weekend in Ånderdalen National Park
From 2 to 4 October 2026, 25 volunteers converged to Ånderdalen National Park, Senja. Together, they repaired hiking trails and restored peat bogs, fixed a turf roof, and teamed up with DNT (the Norwegian Trekking Association) to scout out an alternative trail just outside the national park. A weekend packed with fun, meaningful work, beautiful hikes, great company, and a delicious Saturday dinner to top it all off. Now, it’s time to look back at what we achieved together. Let's rewind!
The team, almost complete!
Dugnad [DOOG-nahd]: "Voluntary , unpaid work that is done in a community. Dugnad is an old custom in Norway where everyone joins together to make an effort, rather than hiring others to do the job." (Store Norske Leksikon)
Starting with the visitor center at Sážža
We kicked things off with a warm welcome by Ingve Birkeland the manager of Ånderdalen National Park, and a guided tour of the visitor center led by Lill Eilertsen.
From wildlife and landscapes to local history and Sámi heritage, it was the perfect introduction to the place we would be helping to care for over the next two days!
Lill Eilertsen guiding the volunteers through the visitor center exhibition.
MANY THANKS TO ALL THE PARTICIPANTS!: Amelie, Anika, Anne-Aurelle, Brady, Delphin, Eleni, Gretchen, Hilde, Inès, Ingve, Isa Sirin, Klara, Lill, Lisa S., Lisa G., Luca, Lučka, Maxine, Nina F, Nina D., Nora, Ruben, Sindre, Stella, Til, Viola and Yulia!
Mission 1: Restoring bogs & trails
We first geared up and hit the trail towards Andrevelten, and a peat bog that A Helping Hand volunteers began restoring in 2025 and continued working on in July 2026. The hike itself was beautiful, winding through open wetlands, past lakes and rivers, and across both pine and mixed forests.
The volunteers heading towards Andrevelten.
Where boardwalks are present, the peat bog remains well preserved. These habitats are natural carbon sinks. At this time of year, the bogs turn golden as plants get ready for the long, cold winter ahead.
Hiking through a well-preserved peat bog in Ånderdalen National Park.
It was great to walk up the stairs built just a month earlier by volunteers from the 2026 edition of A Helping Hand ! These steps keep the steep slope from eroding further, while making this section safer for the visitors.
The stairs built by volunteers during A Helping Hand 2026, about a month before the dugnad.
After an hour of hiking, the group left the official trail to reach a heavily eroded section that had been closed in 2025 to give nature some time to recover.
Guided by Øystein Christiansen from Sállir Natur, we laid down a fibre mat first on a wet section and then on a steep, dry slope. The aim? To stop erosion, and help vegetation grow back faster.
Til and Brady in action, guided by Øystein Christiansen.
Some of the fibre mat also had to be transported between restoration sites, including to the peat bog above Andrevelten, where the extensive damage caused by trampling called for a more complex restoration effort.
Ines moving fiber mats across restoration sites in Ånderdalen National Park.
Mission 2: Maintaining the "Ant trail"
Two hundred 80-liter bags of wood chips were waiting for us on the side of the gravel road, at the start of the Ant trail. Our mission was to carry those bags along the trail, and spread the wood chips to reduce erosion and make it easier for visitors to stay on the trail.
Nina and Gretchen spreading wood chips on a wet section of the Ant trail.
We all do this when hiking on a wet trail: we walk on the side, where it is drier. But when thousands of visitors do this, the trail becomes wider and wider every day.
With a layer of wood chips absorbing the water, visitors are more likely to stick to the trail. Wood chips also limit soil erosion where it is dry or steep.
Anne-Aurelle emptying her 395484th bucket of wood chips.
One problem with wood chips is that they tend to spread outisde the trails. To keep them in place, we carried logs and positioned them along the trail’s edges wherever we noticed the wood chips spilling over.
Anika and Amelie carrying logs that will keep the woodchips on the Ant trail.
Mission 3: Repairing a turf roof
Just before entering Ånderdalen National Park, at Álddovuopmi, we repaired a gamme, a traditional Sámi earth-walled hut.
Under the guidance of Ingve Birkeland, the National Park manager, we carefully collected peat from the nearby bog and used it to repair the roof, helping preserve the hut for years to come.
Lisa and Isa repairing the Álddovuopmi gamme with turf.
Mission 4: scouting for an alternative trail outside the national park
Bente Merete Solbjørg from DNT led a group of volunteers on a reconnaissance mission between Svandalen and Heggedalen, scouting for an alternative to the current trail.
Some of the views during the hike below and above the tree line.
Mission 5: keeping the gravel road wheel-chair friendly
The gravel road from the parking in Tranøybotn to the Ant trail is built to welcome visitors in the most inclisive way. Volunteers teamed up to cut the willows and pines that grow along the edges so that people who are visually impaired or blind have clear guidelines on each side.
Ruben and Eleni are keeping Ånderdalen National Park's gravel road welcoming to visually impaired or blind visitors.
Treats for the team
On Saturday evening, Chef Roger treated the volunteers to bidos, a traditional Sámi dish. For those who don’t eat meat, he also prepared a delicious Jerusalem artichoke soup. The next morning, Ingve Birkeland showed up with an impressive haul of pastries from Bakeri Nostalgi in Silsand, giving everyone a delicious start to the day.
Pastries from Bakeri Nostalgi were a nice surprise on Sunday morning.
On Sunday afternoon, after spreading another layer of wood chips along the Ant Trail, it was time to say goodbye to Ånderdalen National Park and wish Ingve all the best. We headed home happy with everything we had accomplished in just one weekend, carrying plenty of wonderful memories with us!
Hiking back to the main road on Sunay after two days of productive dugnad, and new friendships!
This dugnad was co-organized by Ånderdalen National Park Board and Rissa Citizen Science. The Ånderdalen National Park Board provided transport, meals and accommodation from Friday to Sunday, from Finnsnes. We are grateful to Trullsen Gruppen for sponsoring one of the trips between Finnsnes and Ånderdalen National Park. Many thanks also to Bakeri Nostalgi, who sponsored some of the Sunday pastries.
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