Time to celebrate our wonderful volunteers.

 
This year, Volunteers’ Week is in its 35th year. Happening 1 to 7 June, tens of thousands of organisations will be celebrating the millions of volunteers who give their time, skill and passion to their communities. In February NCVO (the organisation behind Volunteers Week) gave us an outline on the week and highlighted some of the benefits of getting involved in volunteering and the importance for organisations in acknowledging the efforts of their hard working volunteers. "NCVO recently asked 10,000 people across Great Britain what they thought about volunteering. Those who volunteered were most satisfied if they received some sort of recognition for their efforts. Broadly speaking, people felt recognition from their organisation was most effective." Volunteers’ Week is a time to celebrate all the great things volunteers do. While every week is a great time to thank volunteers, Volunteers’ Week is bigger, bolder and a chance for everyone to celebrate the power of volunteering.Read more in their article here.
The article was originally published in this year's CJS Focus on Volunteering which was in association with The Woodland Trust.  Read the full edition here (pdf)

Volunteers are vital for many charities and community projects and their efforts can be seen in many of much loved landscapes. The National Park volunteers make the difference between park staff doing only what's essential and what can really make a difference.  In 2017 nearly 5,000 people volunteered their time across all 15 of the UK's national Parks.  The efforts are recognised annually with the National Parks UK Volunteer Awards.  In 2018 the UK National Parks umbrella organisation explained how incredible their volunteers really are and value of the awards

If you'd like to join our amazing army of volunteers giving their time and skills to make a massive difference to our countryside, conservation and wildlife see what's needed across the sector and available near you by wandering through our volunteers Section on the website.
This is what you'll find:
Full or part time placements, subdivided into subject areas, i.e. the type of work you'll be doing.
Regular or occasional requirement, subdivided according to location, see the region break down here
Volunteering Organisations: Organisations and groups which offer volunteer opportunities but might not have any current adverts.
Surveys and Fieldwork: Opportunities to help with research either by carrying out fieldwork or by recording your sightings.
Conservation Working Holidays: 'Feel good holidays': go on holiday, have a wonderful time and do some conservation work along the way.
Practical Workdays: Opportunity to help with a specific task on one or two days.

Read more on volunteering in the In Depth Features. An index of articles about volunteering from CJS Focus editions dating back to 2005. Articles cover both participant and co-ordinator points of view.
Organisations don't forget all of this is advertised FREE! Send us your voluntary opportunities  Advertise your volunteer opportunities - it's free.
If you'd like to write an article for inclusion in the In Depth Features list or would like to suggest a subject please contact us.