Get involved: individuals and families
It’s easy to volunteer with River Holme Connections
If you’re new to volunteering, or new to River Holme Connections, you’ll discover it’s easy to volunteer with us. We don’t expect any ongoing commitment, just come along when you can. There are also lots of different ways you can get involved – both indoors and outdoors – from writing blogs and designing leaflets to picking litter and bashing balsam.
We provide outdoor equipment at events, including gloves, litter pickers and waders. For some activities, such as riverfly monitoring or Japanese knotweed control, we also provide certified training free of charge for volunteers.
See below for more ways to volunteer with River Holme Connections.
Third Saturday Work Party
As you can guess from the name, we hold a work party every third Saturday of the month from 10am to 12noon.
There’s no commitment necessary – just turn up on the day and join in. Even if you can only stay for an hour it’s a great way to see what volunteering with us is all about.
We visit a different part of the River Holme catchment every month. Check out our What’s On page for the next Third Saturday Work Party.
INNS out
Seasonal ‘balsam bashing’ is a great way to get rid of invasive Himalayan balsam, which pushes out native plant species. It’s really easy and it’s safe for kids to join in too. Keep an eye on our events’ page for summer balsam bashing work parties or contact our team.
Japanese knotweed must be treated by trained individuals. If you hold a licence, and can help, or if you’re interested in training for a recognised licence in return for volunteering with our team please let us know.
Talks and presentations
Are you an expert in your field? Can you host a ‘Walk and Talk’ or give a river or nature-themed presentation?
If you can, please get in touch. We’re always on the lookout for people who can share their interest in the outdoors. In the past we’ve held moorland walks, and talks on bees, butterflies, trout and birds.
We’re always open to suggestions, so please let us know if you have a particular river or nature-related interest that you’d like to share.
Stewardship and INNS control programmes
Help us spread the word about our Stewardship work and Japanese knotweed control programmes.
If you can spare time to post leaflets and talk to people about the benefits of looking after our rivers, we’d like to hear from you.
Invertebrate and fish monitoring
The Environment Agency designated the River Holme catchment as having ‘moderate ecological status’ in 2016. We’re working hard to improve the water quality of our rivers and monitor invertebrate and fish populations. If you’d like to get involved, let us know or visit our what’s on page for training and event dates.
Wildflower growing and replanting
Are you a green fingered volunteer? We are looking for keen gardeners to help grow native wildflower plugs for us.
These plug plants will be planted on the riverbanks to replace the invasive species we remove.
Litter picks
We often hold ad hoc litter picking events, which help to improve the river environment for people and wildlife. These are often during the day, Monday to Friday, and early evenings during the summer months. You’ll find details of all our litter pick events on our what’s on page.
Tree planting
As well as planting trees along the River Holme catchment, we also work with partners such as the White Rose Forest, creating new native woodlands. If you’d like to make a difference, keep an eye on our what’s on page for all our latest events.
Education
Do you have an educational background or enjoy working with children and young adults? If you’d like to get involved with ‘Adopt a Stream’, river bug ID, nature walks or more, let us know. We’re always on the lookout for people to lead educational events.
Bird and bat boxes
Can you make bird and bat boxes? Or help us to install them?
Are you a community or Scout or Guide group looking for a practical project?
If you can help provide a home for a variety of species then please let us know.
Marketing support
Help us spread the word about River Holme Connections. If you enjoy writing, photography or graphic design and want to put your talents to good use, please let us know. We’re always on the lookout for people to write guest blogs, design leaflets and take photos or video of our river catchment and the wildlife it supports.
Admin and office work
If you prefer to volunteer indoors, then there are plenty of ways you can help here at River Holme Connections.
We’re only a small team, so we’re always grateful of any administration or office support that our volunteers can offer.
