SWT is putting local volunteers at the heart of its plans for growth as it seeks to scale up nature’s recovery across the county.
A new volunteering strategy covering 2026-31 sets out how the Trust will offer more flexible volunteering opportunities, more opportunities for volunteers to take the lead in conservation projects, and a greater emphasis on skills development for people who give their time to support conservation.
For nearly 70 years, volunteers have been at the heart of Surrey Wildlife Trust, dedicating time, energy and expertise to protect and restore Surrey’s wildlife. Last year alone, volunteers contributed 27,000 hours across a variety of roles from habitat management and teaching young people to office support.
But the Trust wants to make volunteering a viable prospect for far more people, including those who are not currently closely engaged with the natural world.
Starting now, SWT will:
- Expand our volunteering offer by introducing more flexible options such as citizen science, home-based roles, taster days, weekend or half-day sessions, and project-based short-term volunteering.
- Build up its youth engagement programme to offer more appealing opportunities to young people.
- Develop urban and community-based volunteering opportunities on and beyond our nature reserves.
- Deliver an outstanding volunteer journey, which celebrates impact, nurtures skills, and inspires long, term engagement.
- Recruit, train, and equip more leadership roles including Voluntary Group Assistants, Assistant Voluntary Wardens, Voluntary Wardens, Volunteer-Led Group Leaders, and Ambassadors.
- Integrate community and volunteer engagement early in the process of acquiring new nature reserves, ensuring local people can contribute to nature restoration wherever possible.
- Promote more peer-to-peer learning so that volunteers can share skills and experience with other volunteers.
- Develop volunteer fundraising opportunities to widen the scope of opportunities for volunteers and help sustain the Trust’s work.
Community Programme Manager Claire Harris says:
“Our volunteers are the backbone of the Trust and make a huge impact; however, we cannot avoid the harsh reality that nature is still in crisis. To secure a wilder future for Surrey and restore habitats at scale, we must try new approaches and involve far more people. It’s also vital that we become more representative of Surrey’s communities, so we’ll be creating volunteering opportunities to suit all ages, backgrounds and levels of experience.
“Our supporters bring a wealth of skills, knowledge, and experience that are essential for restoring the natural environment. Through opportunities for volunteers to lead, share expertise, and contribute ideas, we strengthen our collective efforts.
“By creating flexible roles that fit people’s busy lives we’ll grow a motivated volunteer community of people who can not only help SWT deliver for nature, but act as ambassadors for the natural word in their own homes, communities and workplaces.”
