Wonderful wildlife opportunities

From bird blogging to building woodlands, there’s more than one way to look after the great outdoors if you’ve been inspired over lockdown….

After World Wildlife Day this week, which celebrated the many species and communities around the world depending upon forests and woodlands, you may be feeling inspired to lend your time to a charity which helps others to enjoy nature. If that’s the case, then read on for 3 fab ways to help others to enjoy nature and a life outside!

There are many charities focused on helping nature and promoting the great outdoors, whilst the benefits of volunteering for one of these charities are huge! Not only is volunteering a great way to engage with nature nearby, but you also get to gain practical experience and new skills. According to REED, volunteering can also help you to stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs. What’s more, according to recent evidence, volunteering can improve your physical and mental health and might even make you live longer!

Have a browse below to get volunteering, (safely), in 2021!

Tweet or chirp about bird benefits!

The RSPB has an excellent site for volunteering from home or in the great outdoors which means that whatever your confidence level after lockdown, there’s a volunteering opportunity for everyone! At the time of counting there were 84 volunteer opportunities on their site, ranging from surveying butterflies to being a “bushcraft” volunteer. You can also fundraise or organise meetings from home too. There are even residential volunteering placements abroad, or hourly opportunities for those with less time on their hands. There are plenty of options for anyone who wants to get involved and if you can’t find a role which appeals to you, get in contact with them by filling in a volunteer enquiry form.

Walking with nature through CareDogs

From Britain’s biggest charity to a much more local, but no less important one. CareDogs seeks to end social isolation for older people by forging life-changing connections between older people living in London and dogs who need rehoming. The charity provides opportunities for volunteers who want to do good, get outdoors and connect with people and nature by becoming dog walkers and befrienders. By volunteering for CareDogs you can encourage and accompany older people to enjoy more outdoor walks and activities with their dogs. The charity hopes to address the growing problem of social isolation, whilst increasing the adoption rate of older dogs from rescue centres and shelters around London. It’s a new and extremely exciting charity to get involved in and you can benefit in several ways. You’ll get out more, you’ll be closer to nature and you’ll get to meet new people! If you’re interested, fill in the enquiry form here, or if you’d like to watch a few videos explaining a little more, try this link instead.

Be part of a “Green” team!

Fancy being part of a huge group of volunteers around the nation who last year transformed 900 green spaces and planted 50,000 trees as part of 31,000 volunteer days? TCV or The Conservation Volunteers under the Vice Presidency of Sir David Attenborough aim to connect people and green spaces in order to improve people’s lives. They’ve been doing this for 60 years successfully! If you log onto their website, you can find a local activity to get involved in. From rehabilitating hospital patients through the green gym to building green spaces such as waterways, wetlands and woodlands. There’s plenty of choice! For more information about their work, watch their video, (which can be found on this page), or to find an activity to get involved in near you, try clicking here.

Hopefully, some of the ideas above have given you even more inspiration to enjoy a little more of your life outside!

There are plenty of other ideas about outside adventures, as well as holiday inspiration if you want to follow me at alifeoutsideblog.com. If you liked what you’ve read, don’t forget to like, or share this page too!