What can I do?
Volunteers can get involved in as much or as little as they like. Helping us with tasks such as litter picking, tree guard removal, to tree planting, trail maintenance and conservation works. It's a fun way to meet new people and learn new skills. Here are just some of the groups and tasks they carry out.
Cyril Hart Arboretum volunteers
The Cyril Hart Arboretum was established in 1915 with trees dating back to the early 1900s. We are looking for volunteers to help with planting, maintenance and trail inspection. Come and be part of the team that looks after our beautiful Arboretum which is home to over 200 tree species.
Beechenhurst volunteers
Beechenhurst lies in the heart of the Forest of Dean, one of Britain's oldest and largest woodlands. Come and be part of the team that provides recreation facilities for over 300,000 visitors!
We are looking for volunteers to help out with our education offer. We are looking for enthusiastic individuals who want to help us teach families about the forest and its wildlife. This will involve talking to people and providing fun activities, primarily during the school holidays.
Dean Green Team
This group meet every Tuesday throughout the year carrying out a variety of wildlife conservation tasks in various locations across the Dean.
Dean Trail Volunteers
Meet twice a week at the Forest of Dean Cycle Centre to dig, maintain and build mountain bike trails and features with guidance and in partnership with Forestry England.
Butterfly Conservation
Haugh Woods is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its butterflies and moths, particularly the Pearl Bordered Fritillary. There is plenty of coppicing during the winter and lots of opportunity for butterfly surveying in the summer moths.
Dymock Woods is recognised for its wild daffodils and butterfly species, with this in mind the focus here is coppicing and habitat maintenance, with the summers taken up with surveying.
Forest Waters
Forest waters aims to better understand, plan and improve how water moves across the Forest. By gathering information and making informed decisions we can restore our water courses and wetlands. Prevent flooding by slowing the flow of water and holding water higher in the Forest, make our woodlands more resilient in a changing climate, and improve habitat quality for the benefit of a variety of species.
Volunteers will be involved in a range of tasks from:
- Building woody debris dams, which replicate natural processes
- Blocking redundant drainage channels, slowing the flow of water
- Enhancing riparian woodland through the planting of water loving trees such as willow, aspen and alder.
- Carrying out survey work to monitor the impact of interventions.