Join in with our conservation volunteering sessions

If you love being outside and active, if you enjoy nature and want to help the environment, if you like being part of a team and making a difference in your area, why don’t you join us?

Our conservation volunteer teams go out four or five days a week, mainly around the Hastings, Rother and Wealden area. There is a range of tasks, such as woodland management, pond maintenance, footpath clearance and litter picking… all helping to make our local green spaces nicer for everyone, to improve the environment, and to help you to connect with nature and boost health and wellbeing.

Sessions are fun, free and friendly, and tasks can be adapted for different levels of ability or knowledge. You don’t need to have previous experience and you don’t need to bring anything, just wear rough clothing and sturdy footwear. We’ll bring the tools and equipment, the gloves and the guidance, and there will be support and training for each type of activity. And free tea and coffee!

Please get in touch to find out more and complete a volunteer registration form in advance: lorna.neville@tcv.org.uk / 07740 899559

Programme

Mondays: Ninfield (not Bank Holidays)
Conservation days at South Wood on Potman’s Lane (adjacent to Ninfield National Grid) – looking after the woodland and meadow areas, activities such as coppicing, bramble control, encouraging wildflowers, keeping paths clear, dead hedging and hedge-laying.
Click here to read about our recent foxglove revival.
Minibus from Fearon Road 9.30am or meet on site 10am; approx finish time 3pm.

Tuesdays: Various local sites
Woodland management tasks in various local nature sites. Get in touch to stay updated about specific locations.
Minibus from Fearon Road 9.30am or meet on site 10am; approx finish time 3pm.

**NEW FROM 01/12/2026**
Every other Tuesday: Cuckmere catchment leaky dams
Starting in Sapperton Wood, Maynard’s Green, and then rotating to other local woodlands.
Help us to create a series of leaky dams in little local woodlands that will each hold up a bit of water so it is released more gradually after heavy rainfall to protect downstream homes.
Please contact anna.herrieven@tcv.org.uk to book on.

Locations will vary so please make sure we know to expect you so we can confirm meeting points for each session.

***NEW FROM 07/10/2026***
Wednesdays: Woodworking Wednesdays
Join us for a morning of green wordworking in South Wood, Ninfield. We’ll be running a series of sessions focussing on different products, activities, tools and skills.
Using on-site timber, splitting, de-barking, creating gates, mallets, benches, a variety of rustic wooden items.
Group size is limited in order to ensure safe use of sharp tools. Booking is therefore essential, and please make sure you let us know if you cannot make it so we can offer your place to someone else.

Thursdays: Crowborough Green Gym at The Horder Centre 10am-1pm
Green space activities with a health and wellbeing purpose.
Green Gyms are a fun, free, friendly way to keep active in the outdoors, make new friends and boost your health and wellbeing.
Join us on Thursday mornings at The Horder Centre in Crowborough for three hours of gentle outdoor activity in the wonderful hospital grounds.
Gardening, horticulture, nature projects and conservation – activities will vary and can be made as easy as you like so that everyone can take part.
Please get in touch to do a registration form in advance but no need to commit to every week.
Free parking; toilets; free tea and coffee; plus on site cafe

***NEW FROM 05/11/2026***
Every other Thursday: Powdermill catchment leaky dams 10am-1pm (starting Mansers Shaw)
Join us as we continue last winter’s project of creating leaky dams upstream in the Powdermill catchment to reduce flood risk in the downstream areas of Crowhurst and out to sea.
Please contact anna.herrieven@tcv.org.uk to book on.

Locations may vary, please keep in touch to confirm meeting points.

***NEXT SESSION 19/11/2026***
Third Thursday of the month: Ham Street Woods Green Gym 10am-1pm
Join us for a morning of gentle conservation in the beautiful woods of Ham Street National Nature Reserve – a lovely way to get a wellbeing boost while making a difference to nature.
Location: Ham Street Woods, Bourne Lane, Hamstreet, near Ashford.
Booking required, please get in touch:
anna.herrieven@tcv.org.uk
Please make sure we know to expect you in case we have to make last minute changes due to weather.

Fridays: Various Hastings/Rother/Wealden sites
Conservation days at various Hastings/Rother sites including Brede High Woods, Kiln Wood, Hargate Forest, Springfield Wood, Ore Community Land Trust. Locations sometimes change at short notice, get in touch to find out more and book on.
Minibus from Fearon Road 9.30am or meet on site 10am (can vary subject to location); approx finish time 3pm.

Better nature for all! Join in!

Locations are sometimes changed at short notice as the programme needs to be flexible for weather, local habitat conditions or site requirements. Please get in touch with Carrie to confirm site details and to book your spot on the minibus.

Further information

TCV Sussex Team Leader: Lorna Neville: lorna.neville@tcv.org.uk / 07740 899559
Senior Project Officer Carrie Edmonds: carrie.edmonds@tcv.org.uk / 07764 655609
Leaky dams project lead Anna Herrieven: anna.herrieven@tcv.org.uk
Friday project lead Aimee Scott: aimee.scott@tcv.org.uk
Follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
TCV, Blacklands Business Centre, 11-15 Fearon Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 2EP
Office tel: 01424 444675

Pictures

South Wood, Potman’s Lane, Ninfield: Biodiversity partnership with National Grid

Click here for the Biodiversity Gallery.

Previous activities

Ringmer Pond – Aug 2026

Ringmer Parish Council asked us to run two sessions of conservation maintenance on their village pond. We were delighted that several local volunteers joined the activities!

Court Lodge – September 2026

Our Friday team pulling willow saplings out of these lovely reedbeds so that it does not get taken over. This site is being managed to provide a strong habitat for Bitterns, as well as other wetland wildlife.

Broadstone Warren – July/Aug 2026

We were brought in by the Scout Camp to remove extensive rhododendron spread that was crowding out the native woodland area and ruining the habitat for two rare ferns.

Leaky dams in Mansers Shaw (Battle) and Selwyns Wood (Heathfield) – Feb/Mar 2026

Hastings Green Gyms: July 2024-Oct 2025

Healthy horticulture at the Hastings Centre on Wednesdays, creating and looking after a productive vegetable patch and taking care of the wildlife hedge. Or healthy conservation at the Conquest Hospital on Thursdays – in and around the lake, clearing overgrown reedmace that had taken over the water, opening up the area for more birds, fish and insects.