We provide volunteering opportunities to organisations to undertake sessions within Cambridge. Organisations based outside of the city are welcome to come and volunteer with our team for events within the city.

Volunteering could be part of your team ‘away day’ or contribute to your social responsibility programme. Or it might be a chance to spend a few hours in the fresh air, away from the usual workplace.

We run full-day events from 9am to 3pm, or half-day events from 9am to midday or midday to 3pm.

We can accommodate any group size between 5 and 30. It is helpful if you let us know exact numbers a week ahead of your event. We ask you to specify an approximate group size at the time of booking so we can allocate the required number of officers to the event.

We take care of the risk assessments and provide a health and safety briefing and all necessary equipment. All volunteers must be aged 18 or older and must follow the control measures in the risk assessment.

Our personal accident and public liability insurance policy covers all volunteers – we will provide information about the cover. Each volunteer must check the terms and obtain additional cover if necessary.

Opportunities

Tasks we might ask you to carry out include:

• ‘green’ work such as cutting back overgrowth, laying woodchip, and maintaining wildflower meadows
• renovating benches and railings by cleaning, sanding, and painting them
• litter picking on parks and open spaces
• removing small-scale graffiti
• tree care including watering, pruning, weeding and tidying, and creating tree guards
• seasonal work including:
  • tree planting from November to February
  • leaf and fruit fall clearance in the spring and autumn
  • nature conservation on our local nature reserves, except during bird-nesting season
  • creating wildlife habitats, for example by improving pond environments
  • ‘environmental improvement’ projects in the autumn, such as renovating land or creating flower beds

If you want to arrange a litter pick, read about borrowing litter-picking kits for volunteers.

All sessions take place in Cambridge. Your event will be in a park or playground, a churchyard or cemetery, or a local nature reserve or community garden.

In the spring and summer (March to July), nesting birds affect our ability to undertake green projects.

Book an event

Submit the booking form to arrange an event in the next two months. If you want a particular seasonal activity, please apply nearer the time.

If you want to arrange multiple events, please submit the form once for each event. The form will not show dates that we cannot run events on.

You must read and agree to the terms and conditions [PDF, 0.1MB] for booking a volunteering event.

We plan events around what needs doing at specific times. As a result, we will not confirm where or what your activity will be until about three weeks before.

Next steps

We will send you a detailed itinerary about three weeks before your volunteer day.

We assign events based on where work needs doing and to cater for the size of your group. You can discuss your itinerary with us after we assign something to you.

A lot of effort goes into planning and running your volunteer day, so please give us as much notice as possible if your availability changes. We will do our best to reschedule, but these are popular events so we cannot guarantee it.

On the day

Your itinerary will tell you when and where to arrive. You must arrange your own transport to the event location. You can reach most event locations on public transport, and there are many places to park cycles for free around the city. We cannot provide parking spaces.

Use your discretion to determine what to wear on the day. We recommend:

• outdoor clothes suitable for the weather and temperature
• outdoor footwear that can get wet, muddy or splattered with paint
• waterproofs or sun protection where appropriate

Wear sensible footwear – we will not allow people in open-toed or soft shoes such as Crocs or Ugg boots to take part.

We do not provide refreshments or lunch. We recommend that you bring:

• drinks and a packed lunch, or money to buy some if your event takes place near a shop
• any necessary medication

We cannot provide any secure storage, so do not bring any valuables except what you can carry.

We try to locate events within a five-minute walk from public toilets. Assistance dogs are allowed, but to preserve biodiversity we do not allow other dogs to attend.

We will give you a contact phone number to use on the day if you are running late.

Safety

We’ll provide high-visibility vests which volunteers must wear at all times. You can bring your own branded vests, but they must be orange or yellow.

Volunteers must take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who might be affected by their actions. You must participate in all relevant induction and training sessions, only undertake duties you are asked to perform, and always operate under the direction and supervision of event officers.

You are also welcome to conduct your own risk assessment before the event if necessary. If your company has policies about specific matters, or if any volunteers with us have specific needs, please let us know.

We will provide first aid kits, including eye wash, but we do not administer first aid. Your group must use the personal protective equipment that we provide to reduce the risks associated with the activities.

We run volunteering days in all weather. We will only cancel an event if the location itself must close or is inaccessible for any reason, or if we are unable to provide enough staff to cover it. If the weather becomes severe during an event, we might end it earlier than planned.