Conservation and Environmental Volunteering

Overview

Environmental volunteering includes a vast range of settings and volunteer roles, from landscape conservation to community regeneration or monitoring of local nature levels.

Managing volunteers in these areas can bring particular challenges in role design, (for example for taster days or residential projects), training, (especially for practical or scientific tasks) and health and safety obligations.

Articles

• BBC Neighbourhood Gardeners Initiative - IVR Report
• Evaluation of The Wildlife Trusts “Unlocking the Potential” programme - IVR Report

Examples

• Example Volunteer Role Descriptions - The RSPB
• Example Induction Checklist - Ranger Service of North Lincolnshire Council

Links

• Trees for Cities
  A charity working with local communities on tree planting projects.
  http://www.treesforcities.org/
  In particular, read the 5 sets of Best Practice Guidelines
• BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers)
  Works throughout the UK on environmental conservation volunteering. BTCV offers a comprehensive range of training courses for volunteers and volunteer managers.
  http://www2.btcv.org.uk/
• Black Environment Network (BEN)
  Works to promote ethnic environmental participation
  http://www.ben-network.org.uk/
• Greenspace
  A registered charity which promotes regeneration of parks and public spaces.
  http://www.green-space.org.uk/
• CSV Make A Difference Day (MADD)
  A national day of volunteering which takes place in October each year and includes many environmental events
  http://www.csv.org.uk/campaigns/make+a+difference+day/
  

Publications

Free publications

• Best Practice Guidelines: "How to run an effective volunteering and public participation programme in support of urban tree initiatives" - Trees for Cities (external link, PDF)
• A Guide To Successful Community Campaigning - Friends of the Earth (external link)
• The Walking Bus: how to set up a volunteer-run walking bus scheme for your local neighbourhood - Friends of the Earth (external link)

Priced publications

• The BTCV Guide for Community Action - BTCV (external link)
• Conservation Volunteering: how and why - BTCV (external link)

Share your experiences!

The Good Practice Bank is growing steadily as more information is added to it. An important feature of the Bank is allowing users to share their documents with other volunteering organisations. We are particularly interested in receiving example policies or documents that you are happy to share with others. If we use your contribution, you could win a book on volunteering from our regular prize draw.

• If your organisation has an example to contribute, please use our simple form to submit it.
• Or, please send us an email or telephone 0800 028 3304 (phone and textphone)