Welcome to The Conservation Volunteers in The National Forest.
We work in partnership with the National Forest Company to deliver community volunteering projects within the National Forest, offering a wide range of opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to become involved and make a positive contribution to their local environment. All our voluntary activities are risk assessed and managed to keep our volunteers, staff and the public safe.
How you could get involved
Our friendly teams all welcome new people. You do not need any existing skills or experience, and we provide all the tools and training you will need. Just book your place, come along and have a go!
TCV recognises that the UK is a diverse society and we would like to see these diversities better reflected in our volunteer groups. We particularly welcome people from backgrounds not traditionally associated with conservation, for example people from LGBTQ+ and minority ethnic communities.
Conservation Volunteering
Join our practical conservation projects in the National Forest every Tuesday and Friday throughout the year. Attendance to these sessions must be booked in advance. To book, please contact Kay using the details at the bottom of the page.
We volunteer in local green spaces, nature reserves and beauty spots, carrying out a wide variety of work. You might be able to get involved in keeping footpaths clear and safe, or managing rare habitats for wildlife, in building dry stone walls, or helping schools build gardens to teach young people the value of nature.
Community projects
We support a wide range of projects involving local communities in various parts of the National Forest. Please contact us if your local community project would be interested in working together.
Training
TCV provide a wide range of training, from traditional conservation skills such as hedgelaying, to growing your own food. Please check our events page for upcoming opportunities.
We are also a well-respected provider of longer-term training for people who wish to work in the conservation sector – see Volunteer Officer programme below.
Measham Green Gym
We have launched a new Community Garden volunteer group to promote health and wellbeing through food growing and conservation activities.
The Millennium Green is a walled garden area in the village of Measham. It was originally designed as a medicinal herb garden but has become derelict over the last 12 years.
To register your interest or for more information, please contact Ben: 07740 899 718 or ben.woolley@tcv.org.uk, or see our Facebook page. Attendance at these sessions must be booked in advance.
Measham Green Gym will take place on Thursdays, 10am – 1pm.
Details of our upcoming sessions can be found here.
Volunteer Officer Programme
If you have a little more time to commit, you can consider becoming a TCV Volunteer Officer. This programme is a great opportunity for people wishing to be more active in conservation or food growing, whether you are a retiree looking for a new interest, a person returning to the job market after a period away, or someone wishing to gain a foothold in the conservation sector.
In exchange for a minimum commitment of 2 days per week for 6 months (or 1 day per week for 12 months) TCV National Forest can offer you practical skills training thorough our hands-on volunteering days, computer based training in many transferable skills such as safeguarding, data protection and manual handling, and live training in risk assessment, first aid, day leadership and other vital skills.
Many of our Volunteer Officers subsequently gain paid work in conservation or similar charitable work.
If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer Officer, please contact TCV National Forest through the details below.
Contact
Jack Riggall – TCV National Forest Project Officer – Email: jack.riggall@tcv.org.uk
Ben Woolley – TCV Measham Green Gym Project Officer – Email: ben.woolley@tcv.org.uk