Practical conservation volunteering activities in May and June 2024
We are very pleased to now be running a new regular countryside volunteering task programme with our Surrey Heathland Partnership, offering a great selection of conservation task sessions to try on beautiful rare heathland sites in the Guildford and Woking areas.
During the spring and early summer season we are running weekly task sessions on Wednesdays, plus our one Saturday task session at the start of each month.
Once we are back in our busy scrub clearance season from September onwards and potentially during mid summer too, we will return to running our weekly Thursday task sessions as well.
The new Surrey Heathland Partnership volunteer task programme is a great addition to the established weekly volunteer task programmes already on offer with the Downlands Partnership and Lower Mole Partnership.
Our heathland scrub and non-native plant species clearance sessions are ideal to try if you are new to practical conservation work.
The majority of our tasks are suitable for all ages (over 16s unless accompanied by an adult please) and abilities, as you can work at your own pace and you will be shown exactly what to do and how to use the hand tools provided.
You do need to be fairly fit and enjoy getting out and about in the great outdoors.
How to get involved and find out more
If you have any questions or concerns, please do contact us before deciding which session would be best for you to start with. There is no fixed commitment with our conservation volunteering crew, you can join in on task days as often as you like, for full or half days (mornings). Our task sessions run from 10am and end by 3pm, subject to weather, with lunch and tea breaks.
Exercising whilst socialising in the great outdoors with friendly, like-minded people has recognised widespread health and well-being benefits and of course, supports the maintenance and restoration of the beautiful local countryside and its rare heathland habitat.
Please email Surrey Heathland Partnership task leader Tasha at heathlandproject@surreycc.gov.uk for further information including meeting points, for any advice and to let her know in advance when you would like to come and join in.
Please also see our Surrey Countryside Partnerships Volunteer Handbook 2024 (PDF).
To gain an insight into our Surrey Heathland Partnership conservation volunteering task days, please visit our Surrey Countryside Partnerships Facebook page.
We are keen to welcome more heathland habitat helpers to join and grow our great new local Surrey Heathland Partnership conservation crew, so please do come and join in and give it a try, the more the merrier. We look forward to seeing you very soon.
Spring and early summer 2024 volunteer task programme
During May and June 2024 we have the following conservation volunteering task days on offer that are suitable for new volunteers to consider:
| Scheduled task dates including two Saturdays on offer in this programme | Countryside site location | Practical conservation volunteering activity |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 1 May | Pirbright Common | Access improvements to the heathland |
| Saturday 4 May | The Gardens, Pirbright | Dead hedge creation, to enhance the heathland with a wildlife corridor |
| Wednesday 8 and 15 May | Brookwood Country Park, Knaphill, Woking | Removal of non-native invasive plant species to manage the heathland |
| Wednesday 22 May | Bullwater Common north, Pirbright | Dead hedge creation, to enhance the heathland with a wildlife corridor and to support the conservation grazing programme |
| Wednesday 29 May | Sheets Heath, Brookwood, Woking | Access improvements to the heathland |
| Saturday 1 June | Chapel Lane, Pirbright | Dead hedge creation, to enhance the heathland with a wildlife corridor |
| Wednesday 5 June | Prey Heath, Woking | Task type will be confirmed shortly |
| Wednesday 12 June | Pirbright Common (south) | Removal of non-native invasive plant species to manage the heathland |
| Wednesday 19 June | Smarts Heath, Woking | Bench installation |
| Wednesday 26 June | The Gardens, Pirbright | Access improvements to the heathland |
Corporate and community groups volunteering offer
We are pleased to welcome corporate and local community/school groups by arrangement and are developing some great local corporate partnerships with various companies.
Please email us at: countrysidepartnershipsteam@surreycc.gov.uk and we can further discuss the best available options for your specific group size together, subject to preferred location and time of year, and to explain the booking arrangements for groups.
The autumn/winter season is the ideal time to join in as a group, especially for larger numbers, as we run lots of scrub clearing sessions on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We can often offer bespoke separate team volunteering days at this time of year as well, potentially on Tuesdays. Scrub clearance is the ideal countryside volunteering activity for staff team challenges.
Please kindly note that during April and May, peak bird nesting season, we have very limited tasks on offer that are suitable for larger groups, so please aim for June onwards where possible.
We have a separate Surrey Countryside Partnerships corporate employee volunteering brochure which fully explains our corporate offer, which you will receive when you make a group enquiry.
We look forward to hearing from you and to developing new corporate partnerships with local companies and with those from neighbouring counties and London as well.
Files available to download
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Surrey Countryside Partnerships Volunteer Handbook 2024 (PDF)
A comprehensive guide to getting involved with practical conservation volunteering with the Surrey Countryside Partnerships.
