Berrylands Nature Reserve - Community Conservation Volunteering Day

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Berrylands Nature Reserve - Community Conservation Volunteering Day

Join in with a conservation day helping to improve Berrylands Nature Reserve for the local community and its wildlife!

By Friends of Berrylands Nature Reserve

Date and time

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 10:30 - 12:30 GMT+1

Location

Berrylands Nature Reserve

Stirling Walk Surbiton KT5 9HY United Kingdom

About this event

Please read all information before booking

Much of the work to care for, maintain and improve our local community green spaces is done entirely by passionate local volunteers. If you'd like to lend a hand please sign up to join in, no previous experience is necessary.

Due to current Covid-19 regulations our sessions are running a bit differently than they usually would to minimise risks to volunteers and other site visitors, with activities limited to a maximum of 6 volunteers, and booking in advance strictly necessary.

This session will have 2 seperate groups working in different areas of the site doing different activities enabling more volunteers to be involved, and get more done.

What we will be doing:

Since we haven't been able to run any volunteering activity for the last few months there's lots to do, amongst other things over the next few sessions we'll be working on activities like copicing hazel in the woodland, which will be put to good use in creating new sections of dead hedge, rejuvinating some areas of degraded bramble scrub by cutting it back, and giving some of the sites older trees a bit more room to breathe by thinning out some of the surrounding holly.

Where necessary we might need to temporarily close off the areas where volunteers will be working, to allow them to maintain appropriate social distance from each other and other site visitors.

Booking a place:

We usually run events where you can just drop-in on the day, but at the moment booking in advance will be necessary, in order to keep attendees within allowed numbers and to ensure we all have the information we need from each other.

To help with tracing and contacting volunteers you'll be asked to provide address and phone contact details when booking. Information provided will be kept securely and may be provided to national or local Track and Trace services on request.

  • Book a place and provide all necessary information.
  • Anyone not booked won't be allowed to participate.
  • Please don’t book a place if you aren’t confident you will be able to make the session, as doing so could prevent others from being involved who might like't make the event please let us know ASAP, so we can offer the place to someone else.

Who should volunteer:

  • Volunteers of all ages are welcome, but we do ask that those under 14 are accompanied by an adult. Those aged 14-18 may volunteer alone, but with parental consent forms to be completed in advance (send us a message to get a copy of the form).
  • Don't attend volunteer sessions if you or any members of your household or support bubble have any Covid-19 symptoms.
  • Please don't volunteer if you are considered “Extremely Clinically Vulnerable” by the NHS or national government guidelines.
  • Please carefully consider the added risk of volunteering if you are considered “Clinically Vulnerable”, aged over 70, or any members of your household or support bubble are at an elevated risk.

What to bring:

To reduce the risk of virus transmission between volunteers, unlike normal, we won’t be providing refreshments or lending gloves.

  • Please bring your own work or gardening gloves, and eye protection glasses if appropriate.
  • Please bring your own drinking water & hand sanitiser to allow you to regularly clean and disinfect your hands before, after, and throughout the session.
  • If you want to bring and wear your own face covering you are welcome to do so, but this won't be mandatory. Wearing a face covering won't reduce the necessity to maintain safe social distance throughout the event.
  • Please wear appropriate footwear and clothing for the conditions, weather, and planned activity.
  • This will usually be sturdy shoes or wellies (as the ground is uneven can get very muddy), and clothes you don’t mind getting grubby, ideally with trousers & long sleeves (to avoid stings, cuts and grazes from things like nettles and brambles found throughout the site).

On the day:

  • Please arrive in good time for the start of the volunteer session at the meeting point in front of Berrylands Scout Hut on Stirling Walk.
  • Before starting work a member of the team will give a briefing on the activities we'll be carrying out, using tools safely, general Health & Safety considerations, and any additional Covid-19 specific measures.
  • Throughout the event we'll all maintain 2m distance from each other and site visitors. Activities will be designed to accommodate this, and where necessary measures will be taken to help keep volunteers and other site visitors apart.
  • Sessions will be shorter than usual as toilet and hand washing facilities won't be available on site, to reduce the need for breaks, and to minimise disruption to other site visitors. Hand sanitiser and disinfectant cleaning wipes will be available.
  • Tools will be carefully disinfected before and after each session, and you'll be given a specific tool (or tools) to use throughout the day. You shouldn't share tools or equipment with other volunteers.
  • While we've tried to reduce risk as much as possible, all social and physical interactions carry a degree of risk of Covid-19 transmission. Please be aware that the risk you are willing to accept may not be the same as the risk others are willing to accept.

If you have any questions about volunteering with us please do drop us an email to: berrylandsnr@gmail.com

Organised by

We are a local community group run by passionate volunteers, who organise regular activities and events in order to maintain, improve and promote the green spaces of Berrylands, connecting people with their local natural environment and it’s wildlife!

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