Volunteering is at the heart of what Durham Wildlife Trust does, and if you have some time to offer we can put it to good use. From helping to manage the organisation through to hands on work, there’s a wide range of ways you can support your local Wildlife Trust. Many of the Trust’s volunteer opportunities are great for companies and communities too.
Click on the links below for further information on what is on offer. If you want to know more or don’t see anything you fancy please call the Trust on 0191 5843112 and ask to talk to someone about volunteering.
Visitor Centres – help out at the Rainton Meadows or Low Barns Visitor Centres.
Reserves – get hands on and help to manage the Trust’s nature reserves.
Wild Woods - your chance to learn more about woodland management. Get involved in our Wild Woods Project in the Derwent Valley and around the City of Durham.
Veteran Trees – across the DBAP area, we are creating a database of all the old trees we can find. You can help the project by telling us where your favourite trees are! For information on how to contact the Veteran Tree officer and to learn how to volunteer, click the link above.
Family Events and Holiday Activities – we are looking for volunteers to help during community events and family holiday activities.
Wildlife Gardening - Rainton Meadows Wildlife Garden or developing School Grounds – help us manage and develop our wildlife garden at Rainton Meadows. Alternatively, we are looking for some keen individuals or groups to develop school grounds making them more suitable for wildlife and children. The practical tasks will include path work, creating ponds or wet areas, building raised bed and planting hedges.
Living Landscapes – it’s time to think BIG! Durham Wildlife Trust is working towards delivering Living Landscapes – large areas where new habitats are created that allow wildlife to thrive and people to prosper. Our work is part of the national project all 47 Wildlife Trusts are delivering and we can’t do it without your support.
Heart of Durham Living Landscapes Project -is a partnership project with Northumbrian Water Limited. Based around the fringe of the North Pennines, stretching from Derwent Reservoir in the north to Hamsterley Forest in the south, the inspiration for the Heart of Durham project was the small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly, which is threatened with extinction in the DWT area. The work undertaken by the Project also benefits a wide range of species including both national and regional BAP species. To save these important species and their associated habitats we need to restore the landscape across a large area.
Living Waterways – across the North East, Wildlife Trusts are working in partnership with the Environment Agency to manage watercourses in a wildlife friendly way that also reduces the risk of flooding. Volunteers can play a vital role in managing these important habitats.
Helping in the Office – Durham Wildlife Trust has two offices, Rainton Meadows near Houghton-le-Spring and Low Barns near Bishop Auckland. There’s always an office based task we need volunteers to help with.
Marketing and Promotion – We need volunteers to help the Trust get the message across. From contacting existing members by phone and managing websites to producing and distributing publications and keeping the public informed by facebook and twitter.
