Volunteering sessions for your team
We offer corporate volunteering experiences, ideal for small to medium sized groups. These are a great way to bring your team together and give something back to nature. Our volunteering experiences are a unique way to encourage your team to work on something a bit different, and celebrate their endeavours at the end of the day – often progress through the day is obvious, and offers a satisfying result for all involved!
Seasonal experiences
September to March
In the autumn and winter, we invite teams to join us in looking after the most precious habitat in the Cotswolds: limestone grassland. The habitat management work involves scrub bashing (removing invasive bushes and small trees from grassland). This work is really important – it helps maintain species-rich wildflower grassland, which in turns helps all sort of wildlife to thrive: from the wildflowers themselves, to invertebrates, small mammals, and even birds of prey.
April to June
In the summer months, we invite teams to join us on bespoke habitat creation projects. This could involve building small dry stone walls, which are the ideal habitat for reptiles; or making dead hedges, which help protect young trees and are perfect for small mammals to shelter in.
What to expect
A typical itinerary would have a 9:30am start with an introduction and safety talk, followed by the main activity. There’s a tea break at 11am, and lunch break at 1pm. We often go for a wildlife walk in the afternoon to get a wider appreciation of the surrounding area.
As part of your day, you can expect the following:
- Confirmation of your itinerary, timings and location in advance
- Dedicated member of staff
- All tools and equipment
- Risk assessment
- Fully insured
Cost
Whilst our aim isn’t to make a profit from running volunteering sessions, organising and delivering sessions takes a lot of employee time and we do need to cover our costs. It can be challenging to accommodate larger groups because of the small sites we work on, seasonality, and availability of colleagues.
Our charges are as follows:
- Groups of up to 10 people – £300
- Groups of up to 15 people – £450
- Large groups – please contact us
As experiences are often hosted out in the countryside, away from amenities, we also recommend hiring in a portaloo at £120 including VAT, which we can organise.
What to bring
- Lunch, snacks & drinks
- Warm clothes; layers and a water proof coat (and possibly spare clothing in the event of rain)
- Sturdy footwear – the ground is uneven and likely to be muddy
- Work gloves
For more information
Please contact James Webb, Partnership Lead james.webb@cotswolds-nl.org.uk