© Katie Davey
Volunteering
Volunteers donate time, skills and expertise to protect wildlife and wild space across Hertfordshire and Middlesex so that future generations can enjoy its natural beauty. People volunteer to learn more about nature, socialise, get fit, gain experience, go outdoors and to give something back. Whatever your reason for thinking about volunteering we would love to hear from you.
We continue to offer volunteering on our sites and through our projects. All activities are carefully risk assessed. All volunteers must be registered with the Trust before joining an activity.
Practical volunteering © Charlotte Hussey
Practical Work Parties
Practical work party volunteers help us to care for our nature reserves, doing tasks like cutting and raking grasslands, woodland coppicing, reedbed management and cutting back scrub.
We continue to offer practical work parties on our sites. All activities are carefully risk assessed. All volunteers must be registered with the Trust before joining an activity.
If you are interested in joining work parties on our nature reserves, please complete an Enquiry Form.
© Josh Kubale
Conservation Volunteering
In addition to Practical Work Party volunteers, we also offer other conservation volunteer positions, including but not limited to livestock checkers and volunteer nature reserve wardens, on a permanent or semi-permanent basis.
All our volunteering roles are advertised on our Volunteering Opportunities page, please keep checking as this page is regularly updated.
Living Rivers Volunteering
We need your help to protect our local rivers and maintain the best habitats for our river species such as Water Vole, Trout and Grayling. Depending on the time of year, there are opportunities available to volunteers on our rivers. This might involved helping to monitor Riverfly populations as a Riverfly monitor, joining us at work parties to clear out invasive species or building habitats as a Living Rivers Practical Volunteer or training as a Water Vole Surveyor.
Volunteers at Festival of Wildlife © Charlotte Hussey
Community Engagement & Events, Office Support and other opportunities
Community Engagement Volunteers help us to deliver a varied programme of wildlife events across Hertfordshire and Middlesex to give more people access to and an understanding of the nature around them and to inspire more people to care for their local wildlife.
Activities can include running guided walks, wildlife workshops, children's activities, giving talks to community groups on topics such as wildlife gardening, community fundraising and helping out at community events. We also need help to produce high-quality self-guided activity packs for families to download and enjoy in their own time.
All our volunteering roles are advertised on our Volunteering Opportunities page, please keep checking as this page is regularly updated.
Volunteering FAQs
Why should I volunteer?
Volunteering can be fun, good for your health and a great way of meeting new people. You can share and learn new skills, gain work experience and training opportunities and of course the local environment and wildlife will benefit from your contribution.
Where can I volunteer?
We have many volunteer opportunities all over the county; you can volunteer on our reserves year-round, during the summer we need help from event volunteers, and sometimes we have opportunities for volunteers to help with surveying or at our offices in St Albans.
Will I require transport?
You will need to be able to make your own way to meeting points which can be one of the reserves, at our office or tool store in St Albans, or at local community events.
Are there any age restrictions?
Our insurance dictates various restrictions for volunteers. Children aged between 11 and 16 can volunteer but must be accompanied by an adult, and we will need parental consent from anyone aged 16 or 17. We do, however, have many events throughout the summer months which are open to participation from all age groups.
Do you offer DofE or work placements?
We're afraid that we are not currently offering Duke of Edinburgh activities or work experience.
Do I need to be a member to volunteer?
No, we welcome non-members. You can also support us by joining as a member though.
Do you have weekend volunteering opportunities?
Yes, we have weekend work parties at many of our reserves, particularly from September to March, and regular events in the community throughout the summer months. Although most of our volunteering opportunities take place during the week.
What skills or experience do I need?
Many of our volunteer roles do not require any experience or specialist skills. We provide volunteer inductions & training for all our volunteer roles. Some roles require specialist knowledge or experience, this will be stated in the role profiles.
Do you take on trainee placements?
We have an annual training scheme, offering one or two placements each year. Vacancies for this will be displayed periodically; keep an eye on our website.
How much time will I have to give?
We have a range of volunteer roles that take up different amounts of time. See the role profiles we have available to find out how much time each role normally involves and choose the one that suits you best.
Can I claim expenses?
Our volunteers do not receive any payment or payment in kind for their work, but we do, in many cases, reimburse reasonable, pre-agreed, out-of-pocket expenses.
Get in touch!
Got a different question? Email us at volunteering@hmwt.org