Practical conservation volunteering activities during September 2024
We are very pleased to now be running a 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 September, Surrey Heathland Partnership task leader Tasha is running practical conservation volunteering task sessions on Wednesdays on various, rare heathland sites across our partnership area.
Once ground bird nesting season officially ends on 15 September and we enter our busy autumn and winter heathland scrub clearance season, we are returning to running our weekly Thursday 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 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.
September 2024 volunteer task programme
During September we have the following conservation volunteering task days on offer that are suitable for new volunteers to consider.
Please kindly note that this programme information was updated on 27 August due to site and date changes. There is one scheduled Tuesday session taking place this month only rather than on a Thursday, due to staff availability.
| Scheduled task dates | Countryside site location | Practical conservation volunteering activity |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 4 September | Pirbright Heath | Boardwalk construction |
| Wednesday 11 September | The Gardens, Pirbright | Birch and laurel removal to manage the heathland. Also dead hedge creation, to enhance the heathland with a wildlife corridor. |
| Wednesday 18 September | Sheets Heath, Brookwood, Woking | Birch and pine removal to manage the heathland |
| Thursday 19 September | Chapel Lane, Pirbright | Birch removal to manage the heathland. Also dead hedge creation, to enhance the heathland with a wildlife corridor. |
| Tuesday 24 September | Bullswater Common south, Pirbright | Birch and pine removal to manage the heathland |
| Wednesday 25 September | Bullswater Common north, Pirbright | Birch thinning to manage the heathland. Also dead hedge creation, to enhance the heathland with a wildlife corridor. |
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.
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.
The autumn and winter seasons are 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 August we have no conservation tasks on offer that are suitable for groups and we are now booking ahead from late September and October onwards for team countryside volunteering days, subject to group size.
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.
