Article written by Jenny Reece
Volunteering can be a very fulfilling experience and making a positive difference in your local community is a great way to spend your spare time. By volunteering you learn new skills, make new friends through fun activities, and get the added benefit of seeing your local community transform for the better (whether it be from planting flowers on an empty patch of land to managing habitats you’ll get to see the impact of your actions). There are a number of different charities in York that help maintain outdoor areas and keep York rich in wildlife that you could volunteer at.
We’ve put together this article to let you know where in York you can get involved with wildlife and community charities, and the positive impact you can make just by getting involved!
St Nicks
St Nicks is a small local charity that started in the 90s to transform a former landfill site into a Nature Reserve. Since then, they have branched out with a broader vision to “create lasting positive change in actions and attitudes of York residents to enable them to move towards a sustainable future.’’ They aim to do this by continuing to improve the Nature Reserve with the help of volunteers and enhancing its education and recreation value too. They also opened the St Nicks Environment Centre, where they are now based, which was designed to “exemplify sustainability, energy conservation and energy production from renewable sources”.
They run a number of projects and events that help York become more sustainable, and have many different volunteering roles you can apply to depending on your interests. If you are more interested in the wildlife and sustainability side of things you can help by planting, path building and tree work. And if you are more interested in public education, there is a role for you. Volunteering here is also a good way to gain experience in the conservation sector where you can develop your skills through carrying out surveys and observing the wildlife at the Nature Reserve.
The Community Volunteering Charity (TCV)
TCV is a nationwide charity that, rather than having general goals, works together within communities to tackle specific problems they may face and come up with solutions. Their aim is to help people enjoy and improve their local green spaces, and in doing so they connect people and create a happier and healthier community. So they have an added focus on social well-being as well as the environment!
They do this by offering many events and volunteering opportunities. You can get involved in doing environmental work such as planting trees and flower meadows, or you could join a green gym with an emphasis on fitness and well-being while helping the environment at the same time.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust was formed in 1946 to preserve its first nature reserve, Askham Bog, on the outskirts of York. It is now part of the 47 Wildlife trusts all across the UK with the general aim of protecting wildlife and wild places, as well as educating people about important issues to do with our environment.
They offer a range of different roles and have over 100 nature reserves across Yorkshire (with over 1000 volunteers)! You could work as part of a team by raking hay meadows, leading rock pooling, and watching over sheep and cattle. They also offer opportunities to volunteer in shops and cafes so you can choose a role to suit you.
The Impact of Volunteering
Volunteering has both a positive impact on the environment and yourself, and a great benefit is that it is flexible so you can choose how much time you’d like to dedicate to volunteering. It can help improve fitness and mental well-being by helping you connect with others, increasing your self-confidence, and can reduce the effects of stress. People with disabilities or chronic health conditions can benefit greatly from volunteering as research has shown that those with disabilities, ranging from hearing loss to digestive disorders, all showed improvement after volunteering (source).
If you would like to know more about any of these charities visit their websites and look through the numerous volunteering opportunities they have to offer.
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