TCV Scotland is committed to providing a diverse range of high quality learning opportunities for a wide range of participants:
Learning through Volunteering
If you would like to improve your environmental skills and knowledge, a great place to start is by joining one of our regular volunteer conservation teams or Green Gyms.
We run a number of Biodiversity Action Teams and Green Gyms in Central Scotland who undertake a range of conservation tasks such as tree planting, woodland management, path maintenance and wildflower meadow creation. As well as doing something positive for the environment, this is a great way to enhance your practical skills and knowledge of nature. Current volunteering opportunities are listed on our home page.
Some people wish to take their volunteering a stage further to gain valuable experience towards a career in the environmental and land-based sectors. TCV Key Volunteers and Volunteer Officers help plan and run our volunteer and community projects, with varying degrees of responsibility according to their roles. In return for a regular commitment over a period of time eg 6 months, you will receive free training in topics such as Project Leadership, First Aid, and Health & Safety. Many TCV volunteers have progressed to a job within TCV itself or with other conservation organisations. If you’re interested in this aspect of volunteering with TCV, contact your local TCV office or project to discuss the possibilities.
Environmental Training Programme
TCV Scotland runs a number of training and learning events in practical conservation skills, nature identification (ID), Citizen Science, Outdoor First Aid etc.
TCV courses are aimed at those working in the environmental sector, conservation volunteers, and for people simply interested in learning a particular skill or learn about a particular topic. In-person courses are usually held over one or two days, with occasional online sessions of 2/3 hours. The courses are run by experienced TCV staff and external experts. There are places for up to 15 participants on most in-person courses, for which a TCV Scotland attendance certificate is normally issued. Successful participants for certain courses e.g. Brushcutters & Trimmers will receive a Lantra certificate, and First Aid courses also provide certificates. Details of upcoming events are provided on Eventbrite.
Greenskills Employability Programmes
For many years TCV has run training programmes with a range of partner organisations to increase the employability of participants, especially young people, and fill skills gaps in the environmental and land-based sectors.
TCV Scotland’s current Greenskills Programmes:
Greenskills Falkirk: Working in conjunction with Falkirk Council Employment Training Unit, we offer local people practical training in activities such as woodworking, power tool use and wildlife habitat management. Trainees are typically aged between 16 -21 years, looking to improve their job prospects. TCV’s ‘hands-on’ training complements their classroom-based learning. The training is based at our gardening/growing facilities and the nature reserve at Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre, Grangemouth. For further information, contact mhairi.campbell@tcv.org.uk.
Greenskills Camphills: Based at Camphill Blair Drummond near Stirling, this programme is aimed at 16-24 year olds furthest from the job market, as well as those with Additional Support Needs, which Camphill specifically caters for. The programme therefore involves both volunteers and members of the Camphill community. Camphill’s gardens and facilities offer plentiful opportunities for teaching manual skills and conservation activities, such as pond construction, creating dead hedges and planting wildflower meadows. And there’s a strong focus on participants learning about each other, learning teamwork and learning about and engaging with different communities. For further information, contact jack.buchanan@tcv.org.uk.
Identiplant
TCV has teamed up with the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) to develop a new hub to deliver and expand the online Identiplant course in Scotland.