Nature Conservation Volunteering

Come and make friends, learn new skills, gain experience in the environmental sector and have fun! There are a variety of volunteer opportunities at St Nicks to suit everyone.

Help out on Green Corridors York sites and habitats across the city. Tasks can include a range of habitat management methods such as mowing grasslands, tree work, invasive species control and managing wetland habitats including rivers, ponds and scrapes. We also work to create new, and restore existing, sites for nature through techniques including seed sowing and planting, thinning and coppicing woodlands and reprofiling river channels.

Regular Nature Conservation volunteering sessions:

  • Fulford Ings Corridor: As part of St Nicks’ Green Corridors York project help with the management and restoration of Millennium Fields and connected sites along the Fulford Ings Corridor. Sessions run every Monday from 9:30am-12pm. Contact Maeve at maeve@stnicks.org.uk, or 07751970199.

  • St Nicks Local Nature Reserve: Help with the management and maintenance of the former landfill site turned 24 acre local nature reserve. Sessions run every Tuesday from 9:30am-12pm. Contact Maria at maria@stnicks.org.uk, or 07912432826.

  • Student Action Volunteering: These sessions are designed for university students who would like to help with wildlife surveying and gain practical conservation experience. Activities take place Wednesdays during term time, 2-4pm.  Contact Maria at maria@stnicks.org.uk, or 07912432826.

  • River Foss Corridor: Help us improve the River Foss habitat through conservation tasks along the river. This could be scything, planting, or managing scrub at sites including York St John nature area off Huntington Road, West Nooks water meadow or Willowbank Green. Sessions take place every Wednesday, 9.30am-12pm. Contact Maria at maria@stnicks.org.uk, or 07912432826.

  • Urban Green Corridors: Help us to further develop our Green Corridor network through the city as we work on green spaces in our urban areas, creating ‘green stepping stones’. Help us to maintain and enhance these greenspaces through conservation tasks, developing better habitat across the city. Sessions run every Thursday 9.30-12pm at various locations across the city. Contact Beki at beki@stnicks.org.uk or 07708 834818

  • Ouse North Corridor Conservation: Support Tansy Beetles and other important species by helping the team at the northern end of the river Ouse to carry out practical conservation tasks and improvement work. Sessions run every Thursday 9.30-12pm at various locations across the corridor. Contact Nicola at nicola@stnicks.org.uk for more information, or call 07708834817.

  • Hull Road Park Conservation Session: Help us to restore the stretch of Osbaldwick beck that runs through Hull Road Park. In 2020, the weirs were removed from the beck to renaturalise the channel, and we are now working hard to restore the beck and banks, so the habitat is improved for local wildlife and people. This session runs on the first Thursday of every month 9.30-11.30am. For more information contact maria@stnicks.org.uk, or call 07912432826.

  • Tang Hall and Osbaldwick Becks Corridors: Help out with the management of the becks and their connecting habitats along Tang Hall and Osbaldwick Becks. Sessions run every Friday from 9:30am-12pm. Contact Maria at maria@stnicks.org.uk, or 07912432826.

  • Sunday Conservation Sessions: Join us for weekend volunteering sessions held across the range of sites we manage. Have a look on our Events page to find out when the next one will be held and what the task will be.

Corporate Volunteer days

Gather up your colleagues and join us a team volunteer day across the Green Corridors sites across the city.

If you have a smaller group of colleagues (less than 10) please feel free to contact the project leader of the named sessions in the section named “Regular Nature Conservation Volunteering Sessions” to let them know you’d like to join in.

If your group will include more than 10 people please have a look at our Corporate Volunteer Calendar and book the sessions that suit you and your team. We don’t charge a set amount for our corporate volunteer days but a donation towards staff time, tools and any items like tree saplings or seeds would be most welcome. If you have any questions or need more information, you can email maria@stnicks.org.uk.

Volunteer Park Rangers

Our Volunteer Park Rangers supervise the Conservation sessions and help us to record and monitor the different wildlife species that we have on site. It’s an incredible experience (see our testimonies page!) and can help you on your way to a promising career in nature conservation. For current vacancies click here, or for further information, including stories from previous Volunteer Park Rangers please click here.