Home > Youth Leadership Programs > World Bound Youth: Italy
World Bound Youth: Italy
The climate leadership expedition that doesn’t end when you go home.
Join us on a breathtaking adventure where we’ll explore Venice’s iconic canals, hike among jagged alpine peaks, venture out across ancient glaciers, and visit the remains of mountain battlegrounds. Prepare to return home forever changed with memories of smelling fresh-baked pizza wafting along Venice’s canals, listening to wind and birdsong in the Dolomites’ high peaks, and feeling the warm Mediterranean sun on your skin as you canoe the sacred Piave River. As our 2023 World Bound youths can attest, this is truly an experience unlike any other!
When you travel with World Bound, we guarantee that you’ll leave with a unique perspective on Italian culture by getting off the beaten path, forming close connections with locals, and gaining first-hand experience with climate change on Italian soil.
Are you ready?
Itinerary and Trip Details
Packing List
DATES
Aug 1–21, 2024 (21 days)
AGES
15–18 (co-ed)
If you’re 19 or older, check out our Gen Z Travels Italy course.
LOCATIONS
Venice, Parco delle Dolomiti D'Ampezzo - Cortina, Parco regionale del fiume Sile, Parco Nazionale Dolomiti Bellunesi, Venezia e la sua Laguna (Venice’s North Lagoon), The River Piave, Treviso
PRICES (EUR)
Regular Price: €4899 + tax
Deposit: €500.00 EUR + tax
FREE 1-year Duke of Edinburgh’s Award membership package ($600 value) through Vancouver Outdoor School included with all World Bound trips.
Includes:
– Pre-camp video check-in,
– 24-7 supervision
– Land transportation
– Tent, dorm, and mountain hut accommodation
– Canyoning, mountain biking, and canoeing experiences
– Most meals
– World Bound Curriculum workshops
– World Bound Certificate of Completion and t-shirt
– Post-course follow-up
Does not include: Flights, airport pick-up and drop-off (75 EUR charge per person), and anything not mentioned above.
More info: office@firesideadventures.ca
Experiences you won’t want to miss:
Trek, cycle, and canoe through Italy’s most spectacular landscapes. We will start from the high peaks of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site and reach the sandy beaches of the Adriatic Sea, exploring Northern Italy’s diverse ecosystems along the way.
Experience the best of Italy’s history and culture, from cuisine and canals of Venice to the open-air museums and rustic hospitality of rural Italy.
Test your strength, balance, and teamwork while canyoning through the mountains’ gorges to discover breathtaking waterfalls while exploring the geological eras of the Veneto region.
Learn how to take climate action and protect the environment by participating in projects for the conservation of biodiversity alongside citizen scientist and government researchers.
Explore sustainability in your food choices by eating a 100% locally sourced diet and learning how to make gourmet meals with sustainable ‘Trek’n Eat’ food.
See first-hand the effects of climate change on the fauna of the River Piave – with over 300 species seriously affected – and the North Venezia Lagoon, one of the Mediterranean’s biggest wetlands and part of the “Venezia e la sua Laguna” UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Complete a life-changing 12-hour solo experience without technology, distractions, or non-essential contact with anyone else. Just you, your reflections, and a breathtaking view of the natural landscapes.
Build lasting cross-cultural relationships with our group of eco-travellers. Together, we will collaborate and bond through exploration, self-discovery, and challenge.
The places we’ll go
Venice, City of Masks
This iconic, mesmerizing city of winding canals and ancient charm, offers a starting point for adventure unlike any other. Discover vibrant markets, historic landmarks like St. Mark's Basilica, and enjoy a gondola ride through picturesque waterways. With art, culture, and gelato around every corner, Venice promises an unforgettable summer experience and the perfect way to begin our journey together.
The Dolomites
These are the mountains of Cortina d’Ampezzo, known throughout the world by both mountaineers and luxury tourists for their stunning vistas, thriving wildlife, and historical significance as a theatre of many of the most terrible battles during WW1. The landscape
includes the view of the most famous Dolomiti peaks, Tofana di Rozes, Civetta, Antelao, Pelmo,
Marmolada .
The Piave River
This winding river – sacred to the homeland – is one of Italy’s most scenic, historically significant and exploited rivers. Once the main trade route from the Dolomiti to Venezia, with hundreds of rafts sailing its waters weekly, it is now the site of major hydroelectric damming. This is also the river that feeds the famous North Venezia Lagoon, disappearing underground before returning into the sunlight as the mouth of the Sile River regional park.
The North Venezia Lagoon
This lagoon is part of the “Venezia e la sua Laguna”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, considered to be one of the Mediterranean’s biggest wetland. This lagoon has an ancient history, much older than the city built upon it, and is an ephemeral and ever-changing place. Sadly, it is also an ecological corridor in the grip of land consumption, where the effects of climate change are being felt more and
more strongly.
Climate Activist Specialization: The Guerrilla Climate Scientist
Climate activism and research is built upon the grass-roots efforts of the citizen scientist. During this expedition, we will learn the ins-and-outs of being a Guerrilla Climate Scientist, working with several volunteer associations dedicated to environmental protection and ecosystem preservation. This work will give youths the opportunity to connect with climate activist, researchers, and leaders in Italy’s Green Transition and Sustainable Development Goals while gaining insight into the challenge of true climate activism. Some volunteer opportunities include:
River and water protection activism: create a short documentary about the condition of the Piave River in August, usually the driest month of the year, to help local activists spread their message internationally.
Wildlife monitoring and citizen science: Monitor the presence of more than 300 species and habitats along the River, to create data for some of the most prominent citizen science platforms in Italy and in Europe. Consult with local researchers and activists along the way.
Maintenance of historically and culturally significant sites: we will be travelling through regions that are famous as ancient Venetian trade routes, and as Italy’s front line during WW1. Most of these sites are open-air museums maintained by local volunteer groups who we will help maintain these heritage sites.
Hear from last year’s group about their World Bound experience!
Our World Bound Climate Change Curriculum and Pillars
World Bound: Italy is more than just a summer youth leadership course. It’s an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on who you are as a person, what you can do and where you want to go. Here, we make space for growth so that you will go home with a stronger and clearer vision of your self-worth. Part of this goal is providing youth with the skills and hope needed to navigate a future defined by climate change. We do this through our World Bound Curriculum: a set of place-based, outdoor-oriented educational modules that will inform this expedition. All our courses are guided by our five World Bound Pillars, which underpin all the skill training, climate education workshops, and outdoor and volunteer experiences that our World Bound youths participate in.
Pillar 1: Integrating Climate Change Principles and Perspectives
Intercultural: Find the meeting point between European and North American perspectives
Historical: Compare and contrast ancient and modern Italian views on the natural world
Grass-roots and governmental: Gain insight into both citizen science and institutional approaches to climate research and activism
Pillar 2: Exploring Real-world Environments
Mountain environments: The Dolomites
Coastal environments: The Adriatic Sea and the Venice Lagoon
River environments: The Piave and Sile Rivers.
Urban environments: Venice and Treviso
Pillar 3: Volunteering and Connecting within Communities
Work with Italian activists to create a short documentary about the Piave River
Help an international citizen science platform create data about ecosystem health
Assist a community volunteer group maintain historically and culturally significant site
Pillar 4: Strengthening Life, Social, and Leadership Skills
Environmental data collections skills and carbon footprint calculation
Documentary-making
Outdoor leadership training through group activities
Navigation and risk-management skills through canyoning and canoeing
Sustainable and gourmet cooking lessons
Social-emotional learning and reflection through journalling and a 12-hour solo experience
Meet your instructors:
Pillar 5: Sustaining Climate Action through Solution-focused Approaches
Connection to an international network of citizen scientists and activists
Membership in the World Bound Youth: Climate Ambassador community
Year-round participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (which supports climate action)
Membership in the Vancouver Outdoor School Youth Network
Internships as a climate ambassador and mentor in local sustainable businesses and future expeditions
Maria “Letizia” Festa Giordani
Margherita Macchi
Following my brothers’ steps, I decided to sign up for Fireside in 2019... I found myself travelling the country ith BC Explorer and Yukon Explorer with an amazing group of people, learning and sharing timeless experiences. I was asked what is a leader like. Although it’s very hard to find one, coherent, and all-comprising answer, it surely includes listening, caring and supporting others. Since then, this is what I’ve been trying to cultivate.
Aside from working with World Bound Italy, I am currently studying Global Sustainability Science at Utrecht University, Netherlands. This gives me the tools to understand sustainability in its complexity and I’m focusing on the aspect of business and innovation. With this I can combine a holistic approach with a more specialised one. Meanwhile, I am building a community in Utrecht to share the beauty of Italian culture.
For 20 years, I’ve been a high school literature teacher passionate about leading summer trips in nature for ESL youth. A few years ago, I took a long coast-to-coast road trip in the US and Canada and decided that my Italian students needed to broaden their horizons by stepping out of their comfort zone.
In 2022, I took part in World Bound Yukon to have first-hand experience of World Bound expeditions, and in 2023 I led the first edition of World Bound Italy with Jeff Willis. I’m excited to watch and advise Margherita as she leads World Bound Italy 2024! Teenagers are our future, and I think our future is bright.
