If you've watched the David Attenborough documentary, 'Extinction, The Facts' and are wondering what on earth you can do to make a difference, there are many ways to get involved - the most important thing is to do something. As Sir David says "What happens next is up to every one of us". Click the image below to watch the documentary on the BBC iPlayer.
Environmental volunteering gives you the chance to work with a number of charities and organisations in Cornwall (and you get to work around some of the best scenery in the UK). You could try your hand at growing local food, footpath clearing along the hundreds of miles of paths and byways, restore a site to its natural beauty, work on resource and waste projects or help conservationists count how many species of insects there are in a certain area.
Some of the charities and organisations you could volunteer for include:-
- Cornish Ancient Sites
- Cornwall Butterfly Conservation
- Cornwall Council / Cormac
- Cornwall Heritage Trust
- Cornwall Wildlife Trust
- Eden Project
- Friends of the Earth
- National Trust
- Newquay Community Orchard
- RSPB
- South West Lakes Trust
- Sustainable Trust
- Tamar Valley AONB
As well as meeting new people you will also gain invaluable experience and there may also be opportunities to gain some certificates and qualifications along the way. This could help open up possibilities of an ongoing volunteer position or even lead to establishing your own social enterprise or a new career.
There are many more charities and organisations to choose from.
If you want to get involved in some environmental or outdoors volunteering, we've setup a handy site which brings together lots of different opportunities in one place - click here for more details.
You can also find out more about the work of groups like Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion who offer a mixture of campaigning and direct action.
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