Opportunities Working With Children
If you are interested in any of the volunteering roles listed below, please email Jo Meays or call 01904 659570.
- Wildlife Watch Leaders
Children looking at the heronry at Bretton Lakes Wildlife Watch is the children’s section of The Wildlife Trusts and help is always needed with running its local groups. There are more than 40 groups throughout Yorkshire, led by volunteer leaders, and new ones are starting up all the time. The meetings are great fun and groups run all sorts of activities such as pond dipping, arts and crafts, games and wildlife monitoring. An enhanced disclosure check from the Criminal Records Bureau will be arranged for you free of charge before beginning this role. You will get continued support from the Wildlife Watch Co-ordinator for Yorkshire, receiving relevant training and regular newsletters.
- Running Wild Project, York
The Running Wild Project provides safe, constructive, and fun outdoor activities for young people aged 8-13 living in York. There are currently 4 clubs which meet during evenings, weekends, and school holidays at different green spaces across York, and a number of clubs which take place at primary schools during lunchtimes and after-school. Young people can come along and get involved with practical projects to improve their site, play environmental games, produce outdoor artwork, take part in wildlife watching sessions, and much more!
- School Group Leaders
Do you want to work with teachers in York to enthuse youngsters about wildlife and the environment? Many schools across York want to set up their own lunchtime or after school clubs to do just that, but they need some support from us. You can get involved and help run activities such as mini-beasting or environmental art, carrying out wildlife surveys, installing feeding stations or bird boxes or undertaking gardening and practical work to transform areas of bare school grounds in to wildlife havens. You will need to be confident in leading groups, highly motivated, creative, energetic and enthusiastic about wildlife and children. Initial training/coaching will be given by the Project Officer or an experienced volunteer and you will have ongoing supervision. An enhanced disclosure check from the Criminal Records Bureau will be arranged for you free of charge before beginning this role.
- Community Group Leaders - We are looking for volunteer group leaders to help deliver the regular Running Wild clubs which meet weekly on Wednesday afternoons at St. Nicholas Fields and monthly on Saturday mornings at Moorlands Nature Reserve. Volunteers would need to plan, prepare, and lead activities such as environmental games, practical tasks, outdoor art, mini-beasting etc. They would get involved in doing risk assessments and promoting and publicising the club and its activities. This is a great opportunity to get experience of working with children, and to find out what environmental education and community work is really like.
