Employee volunteering

A man wearing a hat rakes up green hay in a field on a sunny day

Volunteer hay raking (credit: WildNet - Matthew Roberts)

Employee volunteering

Working on the wild side

Employee volunteering with us is a fantastic opportunity for staff team-building and personal development outside of the workplace.

Get stuck into some real conservation work, enjoy the great outdoors with your team – and make a positive and practical difference to local wildlife! 
 
We have a calendar of tasks suitable throughout the year (fewer in spring and early summer during bird nesting season). We’ll give your staff full training on how to use specialist tools on the day, and our expert staff will be on hand to supervise at all times.  

A work party from Aviva at Upton Broad and Marshes

Aviva work party (credit: NWT)

What’s it like to volunteer?

“Every single one of those colleagues who took part got so much out of this day, the opportunity to do something meaningful, giving back to their communities and the environment, as well as having the opportunity to get to know those they work with on a much deeper level – enabling collaboration and building stronger relationships with colleagues.  

“Thank you so much to all at Norfolk Wildlife Trust for working with us to organise this special day”.  

Liz Woods, from NWT Corporate Partners Aviva, describes her team’s day.   

“One of the main jobs that groups helped with last year was fen raking. We cut areas of fen to stop woodland species from establishing. After cutting, the vegetation must be removed, to stop nutrient enrichment from allowing regrowth.  

“We remove vegetation by hand with rakes and pitchforks. It's very labour intensive and would take my small team of four a prohibitively long time. When a corporate group arrives, the task always takes on a new energy. I've always found the volunteers to be enthusiastic and keen to work hard. My team enjoy having new faces to talk to too!  

“At the end of a day fen raking, volunteers always look at what they've achieved with satisfied pride and leave worn out but happy.”  

Adam Houlgate, NWT’s Lead Officer (Broads South), explains how corporate volunteer groups have contributed on the reserves he manages.

Corporate work party standing in front of an NWT visitor centre

Corporate work party (credit: NWT)

Cost

We charge £35 per person per day for Investors in Wildlife members and £50 for non-members to cover our costs. 

Get in touch

To discuss how your company can get involved with employee volunteering, please contact our Corporate Partnerships team on 01603 625540 or email wilderbusiness@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk.

At the end of a day fen raking, volunteers always look at what they've achieved with satisfied pride and leave worn out - but happy!
Adam Houlgate
NWT’s Lead Officer (Broads South)