For wellbeing and wildlife
An introduction to volunteering with us
Personal volunteering is managed by Friends of the Wye, the supporters’ group for the wider Revive the Wye Partnership. Its success depends on enthusiastic volunteers taking on various roles to help ‘make it happen’.
Roles can be developed to suit individuals interests so if you’d like to join like-minded volunteers in making a difference to the river environment please read on.
Please go to the Business and Community page for information about Corporate Volunteering.
Join our River Wye Conservation Team
Friends of the Wye Conservation Volunteers
Friends of the Wye’s programme of volunteer conservation activities depends on its volunteers and work party leaders.
Conservation work parties are arranged both during the week and at weekends and are led by experienced work party volunteers.
Some conservation tasks are conducted in the water, others take place on the bankside. Some can be a little physical, like loading debris into skips or supporting the in-stream team; others less so – like litter picking or even making tea!
Volunteers are covered by the Group’s third party liability insurance and are provided with all necessary equipment and tools.
A briefing is given before the task begins about the work to be done, safety and health precautions and, when appropriate, use of any tools involved.
Please Contact us to register your interest or request more information.
Friends of the Wye Conservation Volunteers – Task Planning
Sites are identified where work needs doing during site visits, from external contacts, or by reports from River Wardens (see below). Task planning then depends on the availability of task leaders, the ability to get permission to work on a site and the ability to arrange for the removal of both green waste and non-green waste following a work party.
An Indian Balsam removal programme is arranged during July each year and this entails several work parties.
Tasks at Desborough Recreation Ground and Hughenden Park are arranged as needs arise, and tasks at Holywell Mead are arranged as needed to maintain the floral interest of the site.
Please Contact us to register your interest in assisting with task planning or to request more information.
Friends of the Wye Conservation Volunteers – Task Leaders
Task Leaders responsibilities include the following:
- Visiting the area where the work is to be done and identifying what activities and tools are needed
- Identifying any specific risks to be added to the pre-task briefing
- Visiting the tool store before the work party and collecting the tools required (this may be done by a co-task-leader)
- Arriving early on the day and preparing the tools and hi-vis jackets
- Giving the safety and activity briefing
- Arranging groups for each Task Leader (tasks are rotated among groups to maintain interest)
- Monitoring the work party and keeping volunteers safe
- Ensuring that rubbish heaps are in appropriate positions for collection and kept tidy
- Collecting tools at the end and returning them to store.
Training is given by an experienced Leader, on site, over a number of conservation tasks.
Please Contact us to register your interest in assisting with leading tasks or to request more information.
Help us monitor the river’s condition
River Wardens
Volunteer River Wardens take an overview of a defined stretch of the river and report on it formally a few times each year. Additionally they report urgently any matters of high significance, for example potential safety hazards, pollution or blocked waterways.
Contact us if you’re interested in becoming a River Warden and we’ll get back to you with more information.
River Fly Monitoring
A River Fly-Monitoring team takes regular samples of the invertebrates and other river-life from various stretches the Wye as part of a process of regularly monitoring the health of the river. Special training is provided for this.
More volunteers are needed in order to cover the length of the river so if you’re interested in joining the team Contact us and we’ll get back to you with more information.
Help us run Friends of the Wye and the Revive the Wye Steering Group
Friends of the Wye Governance
Friends of the Wye is managed by a small group of Trustees who meet a few times a year and welcomes additional members to the board. If you have an interest in the river and would like to help with the governance of the Group Contact us and we’ll arrange to meet you for an informal chat in the first instance.
Events planning and co-ordination
If you can bring planning, organisation and co-ordination skills to help develop and implement a programme of Friends of the Wye events please Contact us and we’ll get back to you with more information.
Community Events Support
Friends of the Wye organises and has a stand at local community events to promote the River Wye’s rich natural environment, its social heritage and the importance of protecting it.
These events also provide a valuable opportunity to publicise the work of the wider Revive the Wye Partnership and to grow the numbers of members and volunteers for the Friends of the Wye group.
Contact us if you are able to give a few hours, from time to time, to help on a stall at these events and we’ll get back to you with more information.
Publicity and Promotion
If you have Publicity and Promotion skills, or are enthusiastic about developing them, Contact us and we’ll get back to you to explore your ideas for promoting the river, Friends of the Wye and the wider Revive the Wye Partnership.
Walk Organisers & Leaders
Friends of the Wye aims to include local walks of 3 to 5 miles in its events programme to raise awareness of the fascinating history and natural environment of our local river network.
Do you have particular knowledge, for example about river flora and fauna or the history of the Wye’s mills? If so, and you’d like to share it with others by planning and leading a walk please Contact us.
Planning applications monitor
We need someone to regularly monitor the weekly list of planning applications published by the Council to highlight any applications that could have an impact on the river or its adjacent environment. If you have the ability to draft a formal representation or objection on behalf of Revive the Wye to particular applications that would be a bonus. Please Contact us.
Research the history of the River
The River Wye has a rich and fascinating history associated with the development of the River Wye Valley and its riverside settlements. There is lots of scope for a small group of like-minded interested people to research this history and publicise it in our local communities and wider (e.g. by writing articles, contributing to interpretation board design, bids for project funding and special projects). If you are interested in this aspect please Contact us.
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