Shout out to our Volunteers 📣

Did you know that this week, 2nd - 8th June, is National Volunteering Week in the UK?

The park is kept tidy, safe and enjoyable because of the care our volunteers take in maintaining it. They also lead guided walks, work with corporate volunteering groups, and support our park events. Our industrious volunteers have also planted around 9,000 hedging plants in the last 5 years alone!

We are so lucky to have a regular group of male and female volunteers of all ages and backgrounds. They're a friendly bunch and are passionate about the park 😊 Many of them give us a day every week.

Putting up our huge stretch tent certainly takes a strong and willing team effort!

Here's what it means to some of them to volunteer here each week:

It's great to meet people from different lifestyles and backgrounds and be outside. We get to meet lots of members of the public and feel proud of the park we work in.

Darren

It's rewarding when you start coppicing and then see the difference when you've finished and it's all clear. It's a beautiful place to look after.

Andy

Preparing the community orchard site before tree planting

The volunteers are a great bunch and it's a pleasure to be a part of it.

Tim

I'm now in my 16th year here, so I must enjoy it! I love being out in the fresh air and maintaining the park for others to enjoy.

Keith

One of our longest-running volunteers ready to strim the verges (He took his safety helmet off for the photo)

I volunteer at Whitlingham because I love being outside and preferably in or near water. I had no real vision of what volunteering here would be like when I first started but it has been a total joy to be here. There is a real feeling of camaraderie both within the teams and overall. My absolute favourite job is pulling Himalayan balsam out of the river with the smell of water mint and mud, watched by puzzled cows.

Imogen

I enjoy learning new skills. It's also lovely when the public comment on how well kept the park is. That feels good to hear.

David

Helping to prevent bank erosion at the Great Broad

The group are great to work with and it's great to get compliments and thanks from the visitors who see us working.

Dean

I like keeping myself active in my retirement.

Steve

Pulling up Himalayan Balsam, an invasive species

I like working with all different kinds of people and doing lots of different activities. It's really well organised.

Alistair

Doing a small bit for the environment feels good.

George

Volunteering allows me to meet people I wouldn't otherwise know. They challenge me, and I also feel like I'm doing something useful.

Preston

Volunteers leading a free history and heritage guided walk

Whitlingham Volunteers -

Great thanks from the Whitlingham Charitable Trust staff and trustees for all that you do!

Our volunteers are the backbone of the park. We appreciate their efforts as well as what they bring to us socially!

Ranger Polly - Volunteering Co-ordinator

So if you see our wonderful volunteers out and about in the park, usually wearing their green tops with bright orange high-vis jackets, do have a quick chat with them and ask them what they are busy with.

Preparing the ground for tree planting

And if you want to find out more about what they get up to, take a look at our volunteering page.