Fresh air and endless miles of thick grass green carpets cover the many hills and mountains across the English countryside. Doesn’t sound like the worst place to volunteer. Volunteering for any National park or green space across the UK is an excellent way to be active outdoors. England is fortunate enough to have ten national parks spread across the country. So why not get involved? Volunteering in green areas can include a whole range of excellent opportunities. 

Peak District National Park volunteers

Osian Wilson

Osian, who is autistic, started as a Youth Ranger and now volunteers almost every day. During his time as a volunteer Osian has built drystone walls, repaired paths, pulled ragwort, cut bracken, planted trees, felled trees, litter picked and carried out ecological surveys. Osian spends at least 9 hours a week volunteering.

MTB Volunteers

The Peak District MTB volunteers participate in a number of activities to protect, promote and preserve mountain biking in the national park. Members work voluntarily with The Peak District National Park Authority and Derbyshire County Council, carrying out sensitive repairs to many of the most popular trails in the Peak District

Which opportunities are best suited for you?

Volunteer Rangers

You could be like John Wayne
Or at least pretend to be…

Volunteer Rangers commit themselves to help maintain the National Parks. Rangers can expect a whole variety of tasks, from being up to their waists in waders, to helping park tourists. The excitement of being a Ranger is that every day can bring new challenges with the opportunities to work alongside new people. This may seem like something just for the older adults however, young rangers can start from the age of 14.

How do you fancy?

Red Squirrel transects to monitor squirrel behaviors and populations.

Interacting with visitors is an essential part of being a Ranger. Especially in the busy summer Holidays.

Building otter holts to encourage otters to re-colonise and breed along waterways.

Cotswold Wardens

You could also be like Ned Stark (warden of the North).
But we all know how that ended…

Anyone can become a Cotswold warden (Not everyone can be John Wayne though). All that is required is a commitment, willingness and a positive attitude. In exchange for your hard work wardens are provided with full training, all the equipment they need and travel expenses.

Activities can include

Working Parties take part in a range of projects from drystone walling, hedge laying, and tree planting to installing kissing gates and pond restoration.

Parish wardens work closely with parish councils, farmers and residents to help keep footpaths open and identify local features in need of restoration.

Guided Walks, the Cotswold Way is one of the very famous walking paths among many which attracts thousands of tourists each year.

Maybe you could help with school assemblies and days out exploring the Cotswolds.

Organisations you could be apart of

National Trust

The National Trust received over 61,000 volunteers between 2017 and 2018 giving more than 4.6 million hours of their free time to chip in and help the National Trust. Could this be you in the upcoming year?

TCV

TVC aims to make happier healthier communities. Many urban communities lack green space TVC aims to unite communities and green spaces together to deliver lasting outcomes for both.

The Wildlife Trusts 

Wildlife Trusts are located across the UK totalling to 35,000 regular and casual volunteers. There are many ways volunteers can devote their free time to help wildlife from, species surveying, community gardening, plant identification and the many more opportunities for you to explore.

People don’t get access to as much green space as they should to stay healthy, this can be because of many reasons. Nature of your job role, city living and limited green areas. So why not try to get out there? Think volunteering and think green!