Volunteer at Haigh

Notices

Our volunteers make an invaluable contribution to the management of Haigh Woodland Park.

From restoring and maintaining green spaces, to facilitating events and activities, they work hard to ensure that Haigh is a place everyone can enjoy.

Time, skills, experience and enthusiasm are all the things you can offer as a volunteer. In return, you'll make new friends, have fun learning new skills in the great outdoors and be a valuable part of your local community.

Why volunteer at Haigh?

As part of being a volunteer at Haigh, we will provide you with:

Meaningful opportunities to contribute to the development and improvement of the park
Training and opportunities for social, skills and individual development
A safe environment to work in
Support with your physical and mental wellbeing
Rewards for every 125 hours of volunteering you commit to per year, which includes:
- 1 x Family Ticket for the High and Low Ropes Course
- 3 x Family Tickets for Adventure Golf Course
- 1 x Family Lunch in Graze Café and Tea Room
- End of season social event to say thank you.

What we expect from you

As part of being a volunteer at Haigh, here's what you can do for us:

Commit to a minimum number of hours - ideally a minimum of 5 hours per week for 25 weeks (125 hours), which gives us time to allocate tasks and support and reward our volunteers. However, if you can only give a few hours per month or want to dedicate yourself to one event or project, then we would welcome your efforts
Work on agreed tasks and projects, alongside our staff and other stakeholders
Undertake training e.g. First Aid, Health and Safety, Event Stewarding and Customer Care
Get to know our park
Wear our uniforms
Take pride in your work, in yourselves and in our park
Work safely at all times
Respect our visitors and other stakeholders.

How to volunteer

To volunteer at Haigh Woodland Park, you will need to complete our online form:

Apply to become a volunteer at Haigh

If you have any queries about our volunteering opportunities, you can contact the Haigh team online or call the Visitor Centre on 01942 828 280.

What will you be doing?

We have put together the following list of available roles and responsibilities that will make a positive difference to the wellbeing of both the Park and our volunteers.

We will try and match up your skills, experience and interests to the needs of the Park. So if you're great at gardening, we may ask you to help maintain our flower beds and borders. Or if you're interested in arts and culture, we can provide you with event stewarding opportunities.

Roles and responsibilities
Role	Responsibilities	Skills, experience and interests	Commitment
Site support	General park duties e.g. light maintenance, car parks, litter picking, cleaning, safety checks, working on attractions such as Adventure Golf	A love of people and the great outdoors. Organisational skills, patience, a good communicator and all round practical ability	5 hours a week for 25 weeks (minimum of 125 hours per year)
Visitor services	Based within the Visitor Centre answering visitor enquiries in person, on the phone, online, and supporting the function of the Visitor Centre e.g. retail and general Park admin	Excellent customer care skills. Ability to work under pressure. A caring individual with great communication skills. Retail and merchandising skills	5 hours a week for 25 weeks (minimum of 125 hours per year)
Horticulture	Planting borders and flower beds, supporting work across the Park including the Walker Gardens, supporting 'In Bloom' entry	A green fingered and hard working individual with the ability to see projects to fruition, who doesn't mind outdoor life	5 hours a week for 25 weeks (minimum of 125 hours per year)
Golf	Working with green keeper team on the maintenance and improvement of the golf courses	It doesn't matter if you love the game of golf or not (although it would help). Someone who doesn’t mind getting dirty, green fingered with an eye for detail	5 hours a week for 25 weeks (minimum of 125 hours per year)
Woodland, biodiversity and environment	Supporting biodiversity projects such as plant surveys, balsam bashing, path and bird hide maintenance and woodland management schemes	Someone with an interest in the environment or desire to learn more about nature and our work to manage our waterways and woodlands	5 hours a week for 25 weeks (minimum of 125 hours per year)
Events	Stewarding, visitor information, event management, crowd safety.	Someone who enjoys the arts, sport or large social events, who likes assisting people to enjoy our events safely	Invited to support events when required. Events can last 4-8 hours each
Special projects	One off projects, such as building bird hides, creating new pathways etc.	We have lots of small and large projects and schemes taking place or planned. We need people with general skills, experience and enthusiasm to see us deliver them	Invited to support single projects for duration of (or as part time) scheme
Phase II development support	Help us with our work to further develop and improve the Park. This may include undertaking visitor counts, surveys or consultations, or providing our visitors with information on our proposals	An enthusiasm for Haigh Woodland Park. An interest in heritage, nature and a passion for people. The ability to communicate well and deliver research, interviews and high standards of customer care and interaction	Invited to support projects when required. Training is provided where necessary