Volunteering & working in the community

Lucy Air Ambulance

Organisation overview

Lucy Air Ambulance for Children is the only charity in the UK that funds flights for children to hospital by aeroplane. They, with support of their partners, ensure children are able to access essential medical care regardless of distance.

Fly 2 Help

Organisation overview

fly2help is a charity dedicated to changing lives using the power and wonder of flight.

Air Smiles Experiences are days of respite for families going through difficult life experiences, a chance to take to the skies in a light aircraft and make incredible memories together.

Aim High showcases all the opportunities available to young people considering their future career choices through a variety of different programmes and opportunities.

The Marine Conservation Society. Beach clean surveys

Organisation overview

Beachwatch is the Marine Conservation Society’s national beach cleaning and litter survey programme where people all around the UK can care for their coastline. Popular beach cleaning and litter survey events are booked using the MCS website, events are open to Gama staff as well as non-Gama staff, beach cleans are very well attended – usually around 30 individuals.

Purpose

The organiser must seek local authority permission to survey the beach, the LA will require a risk assessment and public liability insurance before granting permission. A 100-metre area is surveyed, and an inventory is completed during the beach clean, the results of the survey are uploaded to the MSC website to add to their UK database.

Bells Piece. Leonard Cheshire home.

Organisation overview

Bells Piece is a home for adults with learning disabilities and provides support for people with physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries, sensory impairments and learning disabilities to live independently in their own home.

Purpose

The charity welcomes volunteers to help build/repair fencing, prune fruit trees and as well as a variety of different gardening tasks.

Urban Roots (Glasgow)

Organisation overview

Malls Mire is an area of mixed woodland and wetland habitat situated between Toryglen and Rutherglen. Volunteers from the surrounding communities have been working with Urban Roots to manage the woodland, improving its value for wildlife, and working on the paths so that more people can get in and enjoy it.

Purpose

Malls Mire was the first Community Woodland in Glasgow and was made a Local Nature Reserve in 2015, Urban Roots volunteers are improving the path network so that people can enjoy it more easily, removing some of the dangerous and damaged trees and removing litter & rubbish.

Earth Trust, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Organisation overview

Earth Trust is an environmental learning charity and are guardians of 500 hectares of farmland, woodland, and wetland on the River Thames.

Purpose

Practical working days are offered which involves coppice work cutting down Hazel and prepping the wood to be used for hedge laying working alongside their regular volunteers.

Basingstoke and Deane conservation team

Organisation overview

The group helps to improve the wildlife value and public enjoyment of the area through activities such as coppicing, pond clearance, plug planting, and path maintenance.

Purpose

Practical conservation sessions are available any day Monday to Friday between Sept and early March to undertake scrub control and woodland work outside of bird nesting season. Volunteers use hand tools and do some really enjoyable and important outdoor practical conservation work as a team.

The National Trust

Organisation overview

A practical working day joining their regular volunteers which involves work on their special chalk grassland in the Boxhill/Headley Heath area.

Purpose

The chalk grassland area is valuable habitat that supports some of the UK’s most important butterflies and wildflower species. Volunteers remove non-native plant species from the chalk grassland area.