Volunteer with ELGT

Take action! Volunteering with ELGT is an excellent way for your organisation to get involved in greenspace projects in your local community. Our volunteer projects will enable you to support environmental conservation efforts, give back to your local community, and get active with fun, hands-on projects. Your team will work together to achieve a really positive and beneficial outcome.

Benefits of Corporate Volunteering

Corporate volunteering with ELGT has many benefits for organisations. Here are just a few of them:

• Making practical environmental improvements
• Offsetting your organisation’s carbon emissions
• Improving local greenspaces for the community to enjoy
• Improving staff health and wellbeing
• A fun day of team building in the outdoors!

Some organisations who have already worked with us include PwC, JLL, Ernst & Young, Burness Paull LLP, Tesco Bank, British Gas, Investec, RBS, Royal London and HSBC.

JLL helped us maintain the pathways on Calton Hill (July 2024)

What does it cost?

Volunteer days are bespoke and are tailored to your needs. We deliver activities costing from £450 for every 15 people. Contact us to discuss your requirements. We also welcome donations to help with the cost of equipment.

Seasonal Working

We run Volunteer Days year-round, but most conservation work usually takes place during winter and we are always looking for volunteers to help during this time. Although the weather is unpredictable and volunteers may be less keen to participate in outdoor activities at this time, there are many good reasons for the seasonal nature of this work:

• It is outwith the bird nesting season: woodland works should not take place during the nesting season, that is, between March and August.  Some low level and small scale work such as crown lifting of lower branches can be carried out but great care must be taken not to disturb any nests.
• Vegetation is dormant during the winter: this means that impact to the flora is minimal, for example, you won’t disturb any understory planting when working on the trees above. It also means that you don’t have to avoid plants such as nettles which can make work  more difficult, potentially dangerous and certainly less pleasant!
• The tree sap is dormant: this makes it easier to carry out any felling and to avoid damage to the trees.  The sap of many trees and climbing plants can ‘rise’ before they come into leaf in the spring and so pruning should be carried out by mid- to late-winter, depending on the species. Tree pruning should be avoided during bud burst (early spring) and leaf fall (autumn).
• Conservation work will keep you warm! Although you’ll be working in the cold months, the energetic nature of the activities helps to keep the cold out and can actually be easier than working in the summer sun.

Mercer volunteered with us at Pilrig Park where they scraped back overgrown paths, cleared litter, and weeded young trees (May 2024)

What to expect

For all Volunteer Days, ELGT provides the following:

• Supervision by one or more trained members of staff
• Site visit prior to the event if required
• Risk assessment
• Gloves, tools and materials
• First aid cover

We ask you to:

• Work according to your ability
• Dress for the weather
• Wear stout shoes, long trousers and long sleeves
• Enjoy yourself!

Interested?

Please submit the volunteering enquiry form (at the top right of this page), or contact Mirran Trimble at the Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust on 0131 445 4025 or mirran@elgt.org.uk to find out about current opportunities or tell us about your specific requirements – we can be flexible!

Testimonials

“Just wanted to say a huge thank you for Friday! Everyone had a great time – we all thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. It was very well organised, and you were great!” – JLL (July 2024)

“Please say thank you to volunteers from M&G and Mercer for their excellent work in Pilrig Park. As a local and regular user of Pilrig Park, it has made a huge difference, as we can now walk 2 astride. Much appreciated!” – Member of the local community (May 2024)

“Thank you so much for all your help in setting this up and guiding us in our activities throughout the day as well. The team really enjoyed themselves and it was a wonderful experience for everyone.” – Accenture (October 2023)