Volunteer Woodland Steward

About HARE

HARE is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company focused on improving the well-being of people in the Forest of Dean, with a particular focus on children and families. We run events, crafts courses, walks in nature and children’s Forest school, based in our woodland near Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire. Find out more about us in our profile and on our website.

This role comes with the following benefits:

• Enhance your CV.
• Develop your skills - share skills and knowledge working alongside other directors.
• Use your skills and expertise to support a not-for-profit to make a difference in your local community.
• Help to improve mental health and well-being in the community.
• Contribute to creating custodians of nature and the environment - preserving nature for future generations.
• Contribute to conservation of our woodland site and endangered species who live there.
• Be part of a small, fun and supportive team.
• Opportunities to support events, workshops and art/crafts crafts courses.
• Our team meets monthly for our Volunteer Land Stewardship Days, which are open to the public to join and support us.
• We meet regularly as a team for ‘Food & Fire’ evenings. An opportunity to relax around the fire, in our beautiful woodland and socialise with colleagues. We ‘bring and share’ food, support each other and have fun.

Time commitment:

Ideally between 1-3 hours per week, depending on your availability. However, it does not need to be weekly, if agreeing hours per month works better for you. Hours and time of day can be flexible.

We run Volunteer Land Stewardship days, which will be part of the role. Currently the next two dates are planned.

Collaborative working is important to us, so we would like you to be in communication with the team and meet fairly regularly, particularly when initially in the role.

The Role:

• Ensuring our woodland is safe & well-maintained for public events
• Management and maintenance of the project’s woodland and site resources.
• Develop sustainable land use plans, ensuring alignment with the project’s educational and wellbeing goals and any management plans already in place through landowners.
• Asses urgency of landwork and skill needed. Enabling us to plan volunteer days and bring in contractors as needed.
• Coordinate with stakeholders (e.g. landowners, ecologists, contractors, & our project teams) to implement maintenance and ensure our site is safe to open to the public and fulfill the needs of the projects using the site.
• Organise, or contribute to the organisation of regular public volunteering opportunities and Employer Supported Volunteering with other organisations, to support land maintenance.
• Manage budget for land-related projects and improvements with support from the team.
• Maintain an inventory of tools and equipment.
• Organise maintenance of equipment.
• Work with project teams to ensure all equipment is well cared for, organised and inventory taken of any items which need to be fixed or replaced.

Essential experience:

• Experience with woodland management
• Experience of working outdoors
• Understanding of sustainable land management
• Understanding of conservation
• Good knowledge of plants and trees

Desired Skills & Experience:

• Understanding of Agroforestry & permaculture
• Coppicing & other forestry work
• Chainsaw certificate
• Woodwork & tool use

Support will be provided, if necessary, alongside an induction. The most important thing we want to see is a commitment to HARE's aims and enthusiasm for making a difference. If there is anything you’re not sure of, please email us and we will help you with the process.

If you have experience in forestry or landwork and would like to use your skills to give something back to the community, we would love to hear from you. Your support will help us grow and develop, and enable us to reach more people. We are a small team so just a few hours a week or per month, will have a big impact.

If you would like to talk with us before deciding whether to apply, please give us a call. You can find our phone number on our website. Please note we work part time, so may not always be able to answer.