Ways to Help - Volunteering
Volunteering with Andover Trees United is a great way to contribute to action against climate change and biodiversity loss, and to make a difference in the local community. Our 44-acre site includes native deciduous woodland, chalk grassland, wildflower meadow, hazel thickets which will be coppiced, hedgerows, and a pond - all vital habitats providing resources for a wide range of species. The site is also a space for the local community to enjoy, learn about, gain understanding of, and connect to the natural world, through the events, sessions, and activities we run (or just by going for a walk!).
Our volunteers tend to the wood, raise and care for the trees in the allotment nursery bed, sow and grow the wildflowers to be planted in the wood and elsewhere, get involved in events, and do a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Regulars find they experience improvements to health and wellbeing as a result of working outside with nature and undertaking physical activity.
If you enjoy practical outdoor work such as gardening, growing, practical conservation tasks, and maintenance work, then we have our weekly Monday Workdays and monthly Saturday Workdays. Tasks vary throughout the year - see our Digging It blog for recent activities. The Monday workdays are 10am-1pm, and the Saturday ones are typically on the second Saturday of each month, 1:15-3:30pm. No experience is necessary, new volunteers are supported.
There is also an enormous amount of behind-the-scenes work that goes on to keep the charity running and ensure our work is successful, and we run a range of projects each year. Therefore we also welcome volunteers with many different skills, including:
administration / office support
publicity/PR
website maintenance
social media
writing news articles and press releases
IT/tech
event organisation and support
art and design
green / woodland crafts
photography
musical interest
running creative sessions
outdoor learning
legal knowledge
financial and fundraising knowledge
accountancy
plant propagation
ecology / conservation
flora and fauna surveying
leafleting
networking
DIY and construction
We also always need volunteers to provide support for our workdays and events - help set up and pack away, provide a warm welcome and refreshments, etc. And we are very happy to arrange volunteering days for corporate groups, particularly during the Schools’ Planting Weeks each November/December.
Any spare time you can offer - whether it's an hour or a day, once a week or once a year - is greatly appreciated. Every time you volunteer you contribute to making a positive impact on the woodland, our local community, and the national and global environment. If you would like to volunteer or to find out more, please email volunteers@andovertrees.org.uk.
By volunteering your time, you automatically become a member of Andover Trees United. We encourage all members to contribute to decision-making and play as active a part in the running of the charity as you are able to. There are no membership fees.
Workdays
Monday Workdays:
10am to 1pm, every Monday.
At the allotment, we look after surplus tree whips between planting seasons and raise trees and wildflowers from seed. In the wood, routine tasks include beating up (replacing tree whips that have died), mulching, replacing lost number tags, and carrying out essential repairs. In schools, we help to maintain nursery beds, often supporting teaching staff and their pupils.
Saturday Community Workdays:
Typically, practical workdays are held on the second Saturday of each month.
The next Community Workday is on Saturday 11th February 2023. Details for each event, dates and locations may be found in the Events Calendar.
Schools’ Planting Weeks
Schools’ Planting Weeks
Each year in November/December we hold a fortnight (or more) of tree planting for all the schools in and around Andover. Between 2012 and 2021 (with the exception of 2020) around 10,000 local children in total each planted a tree in Harmony Woods, helping to create a community woodland. 2022 was our first Planting Weeks outside of Harmony Woods, at the new Bury Hill Nature Reserve. To fit everyone in, we do sometimes continue across the planting season until mid-March.
Many volunteers are needed every day over the course of these weeks to help with setting up and packing away, refreshments, managing tools, assisting with planting, and all the small tasks that help each day run smoothly. Please get in touch if you would like to help out.
Wildlife Surveying
Volunteer as a survey assistant as part of our ongoing wildlife monitoring project, Nature in Harmony.
You can also take part in our spring and summer citizen science events, including Bioblitz, moth trapping, bat walks and more!
Corporate
We are happy to hear from local businesses who wish to volunteer with Andover Trees United.
We can offer challenges at all times of the year and tailor activities to suit the size of your group. On each site, there are several tasks to be completed and individuals are able to work in areas of interest or skill. We can provide either half or full day challenges as well as extras such as lunch. We are happy to come and brief the team at your workplace prior to the event. Ideally, we would like a month’s notice to organise the session.
We are particularly keen to welcome groups of volunteers to Schools’ Planting Weeks sessions in late November/early December, when large numbers of volunteers are needed.