Key takeaways
- Green volunteering offers meaningful social connection, particularly in the winter months when isolation can increase for many older adults.
- Spending time in nature boosts physical and mental wellbeing, with evidence showing clear links between natural environments and improved mood and resilience.
- Your life experience enriches TCV activities, supporting other volunteers, strengthening communities and creating lasting benefits for local wildlife and green spaces.
If you are over 60 and thinking about giving something back, now is a powerful moment to step forward. The world feels noisier than ever. Screens dominate daily life, families are busier, and opportunities for real connection can sometimes feel scarce. Yet your skills, experience and perspective carry more value than you may realise.
At The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), we see every day how older volunteers enrich our community groups, outdoor projects and local green spaces. Whether you have decades of practical know‑how or simply a lifetime of being curious about the natural world, your life experience means you have something unique to offer.
And what you give creates a ripple effect. Your contribution supports wildlife, strengthens communities, gently improves your own wellbeing along the way and, most importantly, inspires other generations of volunteers to crack on and muck in.
No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.
Sir David Attenborough, TCV Vice President
TCV’s volunteering opportunities help people of all ages experience nature, understand it and want to protect it.
Why Green Volunteering Speaks to the Over‑60s
Connection with people and place
Life has many chapters. Social circles shift, children and grandchildren grow up, careers wind down, and priorities evolve. Volunteering with TCV connects you with friendly people, from all walks of life, who fundamentally care about nature and community. Many volunteers describe a renewed sense of belonging, meeting others with shared values and enjoying conversations that unfold naturally as you carry out a task or walk together. Many volunteers tell us they quickly feel part of something…
Two years ago, I retired … The welcome from the group has been unquestioning, and the variety of locations/tasks means there is always something fresh to be learned. I have also benefited from meeting a new group of people and learning some new ideas about planting and looking after outside spaces.
Caroline, TCV Volunteer
Whether you join a practical conservation session or choose a gentler outdoor activity, you will be welcomed with kindness, respect and supported by fully trained TCV leaders.
Reducing isolation in the winter months
Winter can be a particularly isolating time for many older people, with shorter days, colder weather and fewer natural opportunities to socialise. Volunteering offers a gentle, positive reason to get outdoors, stay active and stay connected during the colder months. Even joining a small group for light outdoor tasks or nature‑based activities indoors can bring warmth, companionship and a sense of routine to the winter season. Being part of a regular volunteering group also means there are people looking out for you, and you for them, no matter the time of year.
Connection with nature
Spending time outdoors is proven to help reduce stress, lift mood and restore focus. Research highlighted by public health and wellbeing organisations shows that contact with green space is closely linked with improved psychological wellbeing.
A growing body of evidence backs this up. Research from the Mental Health Foundation found that nearly half of UK adults (45%) said visiting green spaces helped them cope during periods of stress and uncertainty. A citizen‑science study led by King’s College London also found that environments rich in natural features, such as birds, plants and trees, were associated with stronger and longer‑lasting boosts in mental wellbeing.
Even a simple nature‑based activity can offer a meaningful escape from screens, noise and daily routines. Many volunteers find that being among trees, wildlife and fresh air brings a calm that stays with them long after the session ends.
I retired about 3 years (ago) and I was just looking for things to occupy my time, found TCV online and just started to come once a week following that … I always feel really relaxed afterwards and very sort of peaceful. I think it does help my mental wellbeing.
TCV Volunteer
Purpose, learning and the joy of passing on knowledge
As an older adult, you carry decades of lived experience. You may not realise how valuable this is until you’re working alongside others. Tasks like planting, pruning, clearing a path or identifying wildlife all become opportunities to share insights, stories or simply a different way of looking at a problem.
TCV activities also offer new learning. You might discover new species, pick up light practical skills or gain a deeper appreciation for how local ecosystems work. Purpose is powerful. Knowing you’ve contributed to the health of a woodland, meadow or community garden can feel incredibly rewarding.
It’s fun, the people are great and I get good exercise, fresh air and learn a lot. It gives me a sense of achievement and pride.
Nicola, TCV volunteer
The Ripple Effect: How Your Volunteering Helps Others
Supporting peers and other volunteers
Your life experience offers reassurance and calm leadership in group settings. Younger or newer volunteers often value your perspective, curiosity and encouragement.
Outdoor volunteering naturally brings generations together, creating a space where everyone contributes, and everyone benefits.
Strengthening communities
Strong communities grow when people of all ages share time, stories and purpose. Through volunteering, you help create welcoming, supportive spaces where people feel connected to nature and to a community.
TCV has been an important part of active retirement … TCV helps me to manage the vital green spaces and provide a feeling of giving something back to the local environment.
The activities have been varied across roughly twenty-five settings. These include: hedge laying, boardwalk and bridge building, waterway clearance, habitat management to assist wildlife, pathway and step replacement, wall and fence building, wild flower and sapling planting, canal side management, among others.
These activities have given me a range of new skills, a sense of satisfaction and contribute to continuing good health.
I enjoy the company of my fellow volunteers who come from a range of backgrounds, across age groups. We always have time for a bit of humour to help the work progress.
Andy, TCV Volunteer
A Positive Impact on Nature
Your volunteering supports healthier ecosystems and more vibrant landscapes.
By taking part in TCV activities, you can help to:
• Create biodiverse habitats
• Support wildlife corridors
• Increase resilience in local green spaces
• Provide resources for pollinators, birds and mammals
• Enhance parks, green spaces and nature reserves for the wider community
These small, local contributions add up to a nationwide environmental impact. TCV’s work across the UK connects people and green spaces to deliver lasting benefits.
Planting a single native plant can support an entire food web. Pollinators feed on it, birds feed on them, and mammals depend on the whole system. Humans are part of that web too. What you help restore in nature, you help restore in your community.
Why Your Volunteering Matters to TCV
TCV relies on the generosity and commitment of volunteers like you. Across the UK, people of all ages and backgrounds help plant trees, restore habitats, improve parks and support local community projects. Volunteers make it possible for us to show just how much positive change communities can achieve when they work together.
Your presence strengthens that impact. Every time you join in, you build momentum, inspire others to take part and help partners recognise the value of our work. This in turn helps us secure the funding needed to do even more: planting more trees, improving wildlife corridors, restoring ponds and wetlands, increasing biodiversity and encouraging local authorities and government bodies to prioritise nature. A biodiverse world is a beautiful world, and your support helps make it real.
In a year, on average, thanks to the dedication of volunteers, TCV:
• work with 108,500 people
• deliver 136,500 workdays
• transform 1,400 green spaces
We also create a further 81,000 additional days of green space connection through occasional volunteering, training courses, nature engagement and education sessions.
These achievements tell a powerful story of what can happen when people come together for nature and their communities. And you are at the heart of it!
Starting at Your Own Pace
Trying something new can feel like a meaningful step, and it is entirely natural to want to begin gently.
TCV offers a wide variety of activities across the UK, from nature‑based walks and guided sessions to practical conservation projects. What’s available varies by region, and each project has its own physical demands, but there are many ways to get involved at different levels of fitness and mobility.
Your first session is a chance to meet the team, get to know your TCV leader and find the pace that suits you. You don’t need to be highly active, have prior experience or know anyone ahead of time. You simply arrive as you are (often with suitable clothing for being outdoors), and we help you discover what feels comfortable and enjoyable.
From there, you can take part as often as you wish. The goal is for you to feel confident and supported. You are always valued and welcome, exactly as you are.
Join Us in Creating Better Nature for All
Volunteering outdoors is about connection, curiosity, building confidence and community. It is about standing alongside others who care about nature and want to make local places better for everyone.
For over‑60s, it can offer renewed purpose, new friendships, gentle movement, exercise, fresh air and the chance to pass on wisdom that only life experience can bring.
Your contribution matters. Your presence makes a difference. And we would be honoured to welcome you into the TCV community. The easiest way to start is by finding a TCV activity near you. Search by postcode here: www.tcv.org.uk/find-tcv/
On my first ever day with TCV, I realised that I had stumbled across a group that was going to provide me with an ongoing and amazing experience each and every week.
Eve, TCV volunteer
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