Volunteering with Natural England: how to get involved
Find out how to become a volunteer to support nature conservation where you live or work.
Applies to England
People aged 14 and over, and from all walks of life, can volunteer with us at Natural England. There’s no minimum time commitment – you choose how much time you’d like to give. Whatever role you do, we will make sure you have the support you need, so your experience is enjoyable and rewarding.
The volunteering promise sets out what you can expect from us and what we ask of you as a volunteer. It includes things like the code of conduct and how we keep your personal information safe.
We do not advertise specific volunteering roles on this page. The types of volunteering roles we support are listed in the explore our volunteering roles section.
We encourage local volunteering to support sustainability and fairness. In most cases we do not support travelling long distances (over 30 miles) to volunteer.
Contact our volunteering support team if you have any queries about volunteering. You can find the relevant contact details in the contact us about volunteering section.
If you are an overseas volunteer or student, you must check with UK visas and immigration that you are eligible to volunteer in the UK. Natural England is not an official sponsor for overseas volunteers or students. We cannot cover travel expenses to the UK or accommodation expenses while in the UK.
Volunteer benefits and entitlements
By volunteering with us you can:
- support the conservation of special habitats and species
- use your existing skills and learn new ones
- keep active
- work as part of a team with staff and other volunteers
- add valuable work experience to your CV
We provide:
- information on your voluntary role and how it contributes to Natural England’s work
- an induction to your role
- information on health, safety and welfare
- an identity card for use during your voluntary role (where required)
- protective clothing or equipment required for your role (on loan)
- a reference if you apply for another job or voluntary role
- agreed out-of-pocket expenses
Explore our volunteering roles
We support the following types of volunteering roles.
Work experience
If you’re aged between 14 and 18, or returning to a work environment, there may be work experience opportunities available at Natural England managed sites.
Volunteering on National Nature Reserves and sites of special scientific interest
Volunteers between the ages of 14 and 18, and adult volunteers, can help to carry out practical habitat management on National Nature Reserves (NNRs) and sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs).
You may have an NNR near you that offers try-out sessions before you formally enrol as a volunteer. It can be as short as a one-day session or a few days. This gives you the opportunity to see if volunteering is right for you.
Use the NNR finder to check for sites in England near you. Not all NNRs are managed by Natural England. Contact details for each site are listed to show which sites are managed by Natural England, and which are managed by other bodies.
Student placements
Student placements offer an opportunity to gain practical experience and develop a strong portfolio through a structured period of volunteering. Placements may also support academic work, including projects for diploma, BTEC, A‑level, or GCSE qualifications, which can be based on one of our NNRs or undertaken remotely.
Some academic study or research activities may not meet the criteria for volunteering and may need to be considered separately. Where opportunities are available, applicants may be asked to submit an expression of interest.
For a current list of academic research opportunities, read our research opportunities on National Nature Reserves in England page.
Natural England supports PhD or UKRI/PhD student placements. However, as these are funded they are not classed as volunteers. For PhD or UKRI/PhD opportunities at Natural England sites read our suggested topics for dissertation projects based on National Nature Reserves page.
Duke of Edinburgh award
You can find more information on the award on the Duke of Edinburgh website.
Project volunteers
We have a number of projects related to particular species which rely heavily on volunteers.
Adult specialist volunteers
You must be over 18, as you will often be conducting highly specialised research on particular habitats or species.
How to register your interest in a volunteering opportunity
To register your interest in any of these volunteering roles, complete a and email it to volunteerenquiries@naturalengland.org.uk.
Your details will be forwarded to a site or office local to you.
Corporate or group volunteering
Depending on your location, we may be able to offer corporate, group and team building volunteering opportunities in practical conservation tasks.
To register your interest in one of these days, complete a volunteer expression of interest form for corporate or group volunteering.
Volunteer bat roost visitor
We have a network of trained and licensed volunteer bat roost visitors (VBRVs). VBRVs provide advice about bats in homes, places of worship and public buildings.
To register your interest, read the guidance on how to become a VBRV.
How Natural England treats your personal information
If we cannot offer you a placement, we add your details to a list of potential volunteers. A member of staff may contact you if a role becomes available.
Natural England keeps your details for up to 6 months, unless you ask us not to in your expression of interest form. We will only use your details to contact you about possible volunteering opportunities.
For more information, read the volunteers privacy notice.
Contact us about volunteering
If you have any questions or need further information about volunteering, email the volunteering support team: volunteerenquiries@naturalengland.org.uk.
For any questions or further information about becoming a VBRV, email: batvolunteers@naturalengland.org.uk.
Updates to this page
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Restructured the guidance to make it clearer. Added more information about volunteering roles. Also added a ‘Contact us about volunteering’ section for general volunteering queries and volunteer bat roost visitors.
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We've updated the 'Find volunteering opportunities' section.
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We've updated the 'Corporate or group volunteering and team building days' information.
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Added link to volunteers privacy notice.
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Added advert for 4 conservation assistants (volunteer) roles based at East Dartmoor NNR.
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Added advert for 4 Conservation Assistants (Volunteer) roles based at East Dartmoor NNR.
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East Dartmoor NNR: closed recruitment removed and new vacancy details added.
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Recruitment for volunteer conservation assistant has been extended.
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Details of vacancy for a conservation assistant (volunteer) at East Dartmoor NNR added.
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Advert added for conservation assistant (volunteer) vacancy at East Dartmoor NNR
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Advert for conservation volunteers removed as recruitment now closed.
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Closing date for advertised Conservation Assistant (volunteer) roles extended to 22 February 2016
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Advert added for 4 conservation assistant volunteer roles
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Advert for survey and monitoring placements removed as these are paid roles.
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Information added about recruitment for 3 month survey and monitoring training placements
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Advert for environmental conservation apprentice removed as recruitment now closed.
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Advert for 18 month diploma placements removed as recruitment has closed
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Information about the recruitment for an environmental conservation apprentice at Humberhead Peatlands NNR added.
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Recruitment opened for 8 trainee placements based on Natural England managed NNRs
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Advert for 3 month taster training placements (8 posts) removed: recruitment closed
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Updated Contact us section.
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8 x 3 month training placement advert added
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Advert for butterfly surveyor at Lullington Heath removed as recruitment has closed
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EcoSkills advert removed as recruitment has closed. Advert for volunteer butterfly surveyor on Lullington Heath added
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Removal of 'Nurturing nature conservation skills' recruitment which has closed
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Information about recruitment for survey and monitoring training placements added Information about EcoSkills vacancy added
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Information about a volunteer training programme added
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First published.