Animals volunteer roles

Help protect the countryside of North and East Yorkshire for current and future generations. Join the board of CPRE North & East Yorkshire.

Applications close: Monday 8th September 2025.

Location: Hybrid/North and East Yorkshire (Thirsk)

Time commitment: c.1 – 2 days per month

About CPRE North and East Yorkshire

CPRE North and East Yorkshire campaigns to protect, enhance and promote the countryside for everyone’s benefit. We cover the largest CPRE region in England, spanning 6,900 square miles from the River Tees to Goole (south of the River Humber) and west from the Yorkshire Dales to the East Yorkshire coast.

Our vision is for a beautiful and thriving countryside that enriches all our lives. We work tirelessly to ensure the right development occurs in the right place. We actively support biodiversity improvement and champion countryside protection from climate change impacts, while contributing to climate solutions.

Our small but energetic team of volunteer trustees helps people to protect the countryside they love. We have a successful track record of enabling residents and community groups to shape proposed development in ways that enrich their rural communities and the countryside around them. We also use our planning expertise to proactively campaign for local authority planning policies that safeguard and enhance our beautiful and varied landscapes.

About the roles

We are seeking two exceptional individuals to join our Board of Trustees, each bringing specialist expertise while sharing general trustee responsibilities for developing our charity in line with our strategy and ensuring compliance with all legal and governance requirements.

Trustee with Supporter Engagement, Development and Fundraising Experience

This role combines general trustee duties with specialist leadership of our supporter development and fundraising activities. You will inform and guide the Board on supporter development matters, coordinate activities to meet our agreed aims, and lead the recruitment of a new Communications and Supporter Care Officer. Following our recent strategic review with external fundraising consultants, this role is crucial to implementing recommendations that will grow and strengthen our relationships with supporters and safeguard our charity’s future.

Trustee with Local Authority Experience

This position merges trustee responsibilities with expert guidance on local authority engagement and policy development. You will lead our proactive campaigning with local authorities for planning policies that protect the countryside, particularly in meeting climate change challenges. Your expertise will be vital as we work with the newly established North Yorkshire Council and other authorities across our region to influence policy development and implementation.

Who we are looking for

Vacancy 1

We are seeking an individual with management or senior-level experience in supporter development and fundraising. You will have experience in building relationships with supporters, developing fundraising strategies, and implementing successful campaigns.

Vacancy 2

We are also seeking someone with management or senior-level experience, either in policy development within local authorities or as a policy advisor to local authorities, or with experience working with local authorities in a not for profit capacity.

You should understand how local government works, have experience in policy and possess strong communication skills for engaging with elected officials and officers.

Our Trustees are passionate about countryside protection. You will bring strong communication skills, the ability to work collaboratively, and a commitment to our charitable aims. Previous trustee experience is not required as we provide comprehensive training and support.

Time commitment

Both roles require the equivalent of circa 1-2 days per month, including attendance at trustee meetings held every 2-3 months (currently in Thirsk), an annual AGM, and collaboration between meetings. Most meetings are held in person, although some are conducted online.

Please click 'Redirect to recruiter’ to be redirected to the Peridot Partners website, where you can find full details of the candidate profile and register your interest to apply.

Applications for this role close on Monday 8th September 2025

Are you aged 18-25, West Midlands based and passionate about environmental change? 
 
Join us on our FREE programme!
 
Across 9 months, you’ll take part in both online and in-person events, equipping you with the skills and knowledge you need to spark positive change in your local area and beyond. 
 
If you’d like to get more connected to nature, build transferable skills and meet like-minded people, apply now at the ELP2 website.

The West Midlands Environmental Leadership Programme2 (ELP2) is powered by Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts and Shropshire Wildlife Trust and it is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

An accredited museum and award winning visitor attraction, Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome is a charity and the largest surviving Great War aerodrome in Europe.

We are a centre for volunteering and, with the assistance of over 100 volunteers, we deliver an extensive programme of educational and fundraising events each year designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of visitors including historians, aviation enthusiasts, school parties and families. 

We also open to the public most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

We are looking for people who can our meet, greet and provide information to our visitors, all wrapped up in a friendly welcome to the site. This will also include taking care of our small retail outlet.

You will become familiar with our shop and our range of gifts and gradually build up your knowledge of our museum and exhibitions.

Are you... 

• Friendly and confident when talking to people of all ages and backgrounds
• Able to build strong relationships with staff and other volunteers
• Happy working in a small but busy team
• Willing to learn the operation of a simple till system
• Willing to find out more about our displays and exhibitions
• Happy to undertake other ad-hoc roles

This could be the perfect role for you! 

This is an opportunity to lead the protection of the vital footpaths and rights of way network across the countryside of East Sussex and ensure walking in the natural environment is accessible to everyone.

You will coordinate a team of Local Footpath Wardens and will be responsible for assessing proposals affecting paths and for developing Ramblers' response to and comments on those proposals, liaising with Ramblers' Central Office and other stakeholders as necessary.

You will represent Ramblers' Sussex Area on rights of way issues with the local authorities and at meetings and public events.

To undertake the role you will need to keep up to date with legal and policy information about paths and planning issues nationally as well as in your local area.

The skills required for the role are to be confident but diplomatic; able to understand complex rights of way and legal issues; be friendly and personable with the ability to influence; and good at presenting arguments in writing and in person.

The role will offer you the opportunity to use your existing networking skills; to develop new skills and knowledge in relation to rights of way issues; and to work with a group of fellow volunteers to influence local policy.

East London Waterworks Park is looking for illustrators, animators and graphic designers to help campaign in the creation of our new park with natural swimming ponds.

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are looking for illustrators, animators and graphic designers to contribute to our community-led working circle who are working on coordinating our digital marketing. 

There is opportunity to lead on projects across content creation, social media, film or any other channels of interest, and facilitate the direction of the working circle.

The Comms Circle currently meets fortnightly on a Tuesday evening on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely.

While technical skills are essential, we also value your ability to think creatively and strategically. You should have experience in creating engaging visual content for various platforms that will engage stakeholders and decision makers, such as public reports, presentations for decision makers, social media and websites. A strong understanding of storytelling and the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively through visuals will be invaluable. You should be comfortable with community-led processes. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role. 

Contribute to the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds.Your creative talents will be invaluable in bringing the park’s biodiversity to life. Through your illustrations, animations, and graphic designs, you’ll help us create visually captivating content that inspires, educates, and engages our community, stakeholders and decision makers. Your work will play a vital role in fostering a strong connection between people and nature, ultimately creating the park’s future.

CPRE Buckinghamshire (part of CPRE – The Countryside Charity) is looking for a Trustee with a background, or strong interest, in the local farming community. This Trustee will take the lead in our campaign to support sustainable farming and agricultural practices, and will help us to partner with relevant groups, with the aim of enhancing and protecting Buckinghamshire’s wildlife and countryside. 

This volunteer role would suit someone living or studying in Buckinghamshire who would like to be involved in campaigning and sharing their expertise with other Trustees, volunteers and members of CPRE.

You will ideally have experience of, or a deep interest in, sustainable farming, and agricultural practices that ensure food production without compromising the environment or future generations' ability to meet their needs. Your expertise will help us to demonstrate how farming today can focus on reducing its impact on ecosystems, can promote biodiversity, and can minimise energy use.

As a Trustee, you will also be part of our small and collaborative Trustee board. You will help to deliver our strategy, vision and mission, and guide the future direction of CPRE Buckinghamshire. Along with the other Trustees, you will ensure that the charity has the necessary policies and resources, complies with legal requirements, and adheres to its governing document. 

This is a volunteer team that typically works remotely, though some occasional face-to-face meetings may occur when needed – we will pay expenses in these instances. We estimate that the commitment would be around 2–3 hours a week, but you can of course do more if you wish!

We welcome applicants of any age, gender and background. Students who are studying (or have studied) relevant courses are also welcome to apply.

Why we need you:

This role is vital to the work of FareShare Merseyside. You will be preparing and cooking meals for our volunteers and staff, cleaning down the kitchen, and adhering to allergen, HACCP, and other compliance checks.

For the role of the Volunteer Kitchen Lead/ Chef, a background in food is essential. If you have experience leading a small team, and adhering to food hygiene, you would be a great fit for this role.

What will I be doing?

• Learning how to use our internal Warehouse systems to ‘book out’ food, ensuring a good level of stock is available at all time.
• Planning, creating, and cooking meals from surplus food for volunteer and staff lunches.
• Carrying out routine kitchen cleaning, health and safety checks, and completing all relevant paperwork.
• Assisting with one-off corporate or fundraising events.
• Representing FareShare in a courteous and professional manner at all times.

What we need you to be:

• Minimum of 18 years old
• Experience cooking for large numbers of people
• Passionate about food and saving surplus food from going to waste
• Inventive in the kitchen and able to cook for all dietary requirements
• Positive, friendly and personable, able to interact well with different people 
• Good with numbers, identifying different foods, writing clearly  
• Able to work effectively and use your initiative in a fast-paced environment 
• Able to work well in a team and on your own   
• Able to follow FareShare’s policies & procedures  

What will I get out of it?

· An active and sociable role 

· Development of skills such as menu planning, batch cooking, team leading

· Support and supervision from the Regional Volunteer Manager, and our Culinary Lead. 

• An induction and training for the role
• The opportunity to take on new challenges and support people in your community
• Reasonable travel expenses and a free lunch  
• A fun and friendly place to work  
• The opportunity to take on new challenges   
• A work reference for those who have satisfactorily committed to at least 3 months  
• The opportunity to support a great cause and give something back to your community  

We are looking for a lively dynamic individual to promote the activities of Sussex Area Ramblers by regular communications with members and engaging with local media including producing press releases and responding to enquiries. 

The main purposes of the role are (1) to maintain regular communications with Sussex Area Ramblers’ members by producing articles for the Area Website and sending email communications to keep members up to date with Area activities, including developing a social media strategy and (2) to communicate (together where necessary with Ramblers' Central Office) with media in the Area, including by way of proactive press releases, and deal with media enquiries, to ensure that the activities and charitable role of the Sussex Area Ramblers are given a high profile

CPRE Berkshire is the local branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, a national charity that champions the countryside and promotes sustainable land use. An opportunity has arisen to help us shape the future of Berkshire’s countryside as our new Treasurer. As part of CPRE’s influential network, we advocate for responsible planning, protect green spaces, and engage with local and national decision-makers to shape policies that affect rural communities and landscapes.

Our Requirement

CPRE Berkshire is seeking a new Treasurer to work with its board of trustees and oversee the charity’s financial affairs. This is a voluntary role, ideal for someone with financial management experience who wants to contribute meaningfully to local environmental advocacy.

As Treasurer, you will:

- Maintain oversight of income, expenditure, and budgeting

- Prepare financial reports and ensure compliance with legal requirements

- Manage transactions and process payments

- Advise the board on financial sustainability and planning

We’re looking for someone who:

- Has experience in finance, accounting, or budget management

- Can present financial information clearly to non-specialists

- Is comfortable working independently and attending trustee meetings

- Shares our commitment to protecting Berkshire’s countryside

This role is unpaid, but reasonable expenses are reimbursed. You’ll be joining a small but committed team working to rebuild CPRE Berkshire’s capability ahead of CPRE’s centenary year in 2026.

East London Waterworks Park is looking for illustrators, animators and graphic designers to help campaign in the creation of our new park with natural swimming ponds.

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are looking for illustrators, animators and graphic designers to contribute to our community-led working circle who are working on coordinating our digital marketing. 

There is opportunity to lead on projects across content creation, social media, film or any other channels of interest, and facilitate the direction of the working circle.

The Comms Circle currently meets fortnightly on a Tuesday evening on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely.

While technical skills are essential, we also value your ability to think creatively and strategically. You should have experience in creating engaging visual content for various platforms that will engage stakeholders and decision makers, such as public reports, presentations for decision makers, social media and websites. A strong understanding of storytelling and the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively through visuals will be invaluable. You should be comfortable with community-led processes. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role. 

Contribute to the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds.Your creative talents will be invaluable in bringing the park’s biodiversity to life. Through your illustrations, animations, and graphic designs, you’ll help us create visually captivating content that inspires, educates, and engages our community, stakeholders and decision makers. Your work will play a vital role in fostering a strong connection between people and nature, ultimately creating the park’s future.

Whether you’re a jobseeker interested in a career in construction or woodwork, a student or recent college graduate seeking experience, or just someone with spare time on your hands, wanting to do something positive and meet new people, volunteering with the Touch Wood project at EMERGE 3Rs may be just the ticket!

Touch Wood is a wood recycling and upcycling initiative, which collects surplus and waste wood and timber and gives it a new lease of life, preventing it from being burned, chipped, or dumped in landfill.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

* Preparing wood for resale

* Assisting with the construction of wooden products, from small household items to pieces of furniture

Our Touch Wood volunteers are able to gain skills in practical woodworking, as we offer hands-on experience of working with reclaimed timber; from making basic lumber products ready for resale, through to assisting with the creation of bespoke items, such as kitchen equipment and home and garden furniture.

Full training in woodworking and health and safety is provided, along with Personal Protection Equipment.

The UK generates around 5 million tonnes of wood waste every year, but less than 1% is reused. Touch Wood rescues waste timber that would otherwise be landfilled or turned into woodchip; creating jobs and training opportunities for disadvantaged local people at the same time. We collect from construction sites, industrial estates and other commercial sources, reclaiming everything from pallets to indoor cycle tracks – you name it, we take it! Anything we can’t reuse is locally recycled, so nothing goes to waste. This reduces the carbon emissions associated with disposing of waste wood, offers cost savings for DIY enthusiasts, and provides training and job potential to volunteers in the workshop. Some of the timber we work with comes from high profile sources, including the entire track of the Manchester Velodrome cycling centre and wood removed in the recent refurbishment of Manchester’s historic Town Hall!

Our skilled team of staff and volunteers often use reclaimed timber to create beautiful and practical products, such as home and garden furniture. We regularly create bespoke pieces to order; some of it for famous clients like Olympic cycling champions Jason and Laura Kenny, for whom we made a table from the Manchester Velodrome track.

Please be advised that our volunteers require a fair level of physical fitness and manual dexterity as the role is entirely practical.

Our Touch Wood workshop and wood store is open Mon-Fri, 8.30am - 4pm.
We occupy a unit at Maynard House, inside New Smithfield Market, in Openshaw, North Manchester, which is accessed from the main entrance on Whitworth Street East (off Ashton Old Road). The site is served well by buses, and we have free parking onsite, as well as secure storage racks for pushbikes.

​IMPORTANT NOTE:
You must be resident in the UK and living in Greater Manchester, or within easy commuting distance of our base, in order to volunteer with us. There are no exceptions to this rule. This is because we require volunteers to be able to reliably commit to regular shifts for some of our roles. We are unable to offer sponsorship for overseas applicants.

Know someone else who might be interested in volunteering with us?
Please pass our details on to them as we always welcome new people on our teams. :)

Do you live in Wales and want to gain valuable skills, have new experiences, and support vulnerable people? We are offering 1 young person aged 18–25 the opportunity to volunteer for up to 11 months with the Portuguese Red Cross in Guimarães, Portugal.

The Portuguese Red Cross in Guimarães supports the local community through a wide range of voluntary activities focused on social inclusion, education, health, and youth engagement.

Volunteers will be involved in several impactful projects, including:

• Supporting elderly people through digital inclusion and companionship
• Promoting healthy lifestyles and safety awareness among children and teenagers
• Assisting in shelters for homeless individuals and long-term care patients
• Organising creative and educational activities in schools, hospitals, and foster homes
• Helping with social media, fundraising, and community events.

Volunteers will stay in a shared house near the city centre, just a short walk from the Red Cross headquarters. The house includes shared bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, bathrooms, and a terrace. Volunteering hours will not exceed 35 hours per week, and volunteers are entitled to two consecutive days of rest. While most weekends are free, occasional weekend activities may take place.

This is a fantastic opportunity to explore your interests, develop new skills, and make a difference in a vibrant and historic city. For more details on the role and the projects available, please refer to the full role description. The most important thing we want to see is your motivation for this placement!

Typical tasks may include:

• Assisting with educational games and workshops in schools and hospitals
• Supporting digital literacy sessions for elderly people
• Helping manage donations of clothes, food, and essentials
• Creating engaging content for social media and awareness campaigns
• Participating in climate change and health awareness projects
• Designing and leading your own community-based initiatives.

The volunteers will be working in a range of projects, which will give them the chance to explore the different kind of social action that the Portuguese Red Cross undertake in Guimarães.

This is a great opportunity to get involved in social action projects and find out what you are interested in. For more details on the role and the projects available, have a look at the role description. The main thing we want to see is your motivation for this placement!

Please note that only young people (aged 18-25) based in Wales can apply for this role. Depending on the situation at the time, we will either run an in-person selection day or run Teams interviews with shortlisted candidates.

By getting involved you could:

• Join an enthusiastic team and make new friends 
• Develop your hospitality skills and put them into practice
• Support the lunch rush be delivering food to people’s tables 
• Support on the counter to help serve soup or cakes
• Sign up to holiday, evening or 1 off events such as Theatre, Proms or other performances that may have an ice cream trike or BBQ on offer
• Be trained on the Food and Beverage Buggy to help deliver stock including freshly baked good to other outlets (being trained on the F&B buggy is an optional choice in addition to usual duties)
• Use your smile and customer service skills, so people feel at home
• Help us raise money so we continue our work looking after special places

What's involved?

• Undertake tasks ranging from clearing tables and serving food to washing dishes and supporting behind the counter. 
• Use your smile and customer service skills to engage with visitors, share knowledge of the property and generally enhance their visit
• Have a strong working knowledge of our menu, including allergen information, and sharing this with visitors, though any allergy questions should be asked to a team leader, with the support of our allergen book.
• Playing your part to continue our work looking after special places 
• Joining an enthusiastic team and making new friends
• Learning and developing a range of skills such as food safety, barista and exceptional service.
• There’s also potential to get involved with the Food & Beverage events calendar.
• You can also opt in to Food and Beverage Buggy training to help deliver freshly baked goods to other outlets on site.

This role will suit you if you are:

• Are cheerful and like being around people – you’ll meet a lot at lunchtime! 
• Are looking for a varied role – you’ll be juggling tasks as well as trays of food
• Are keen to be part of a team
• Are good at keeping places looking tidy and welcoming
• Have a keen eye to detail to notice when a visitor needs help
• Love chatting about food, new recipes and where our ingredients come from

United Nations CSO, Centre for Big Synergy, seeks a Partnerships Researcher for the World's biggest sustainability film festival!

This is an opportunity to build for furthering your career in research and partnerships and also to gain professional esteem and presence.

Big Syn Institute is a part of the Centre for Big Synergy and has been organising the Big Syn International Film Festival (BSIFF) since 2019.

The partnerships researcher will work closely with the team to identify and engage in strategic research, both online and offline, for the biggest film festival and awards, of its kind - Big Syn Institute's BSIFF, London.

Since 2019, the festival has reached over 50M people and in over 120 countries. Through relevant shorts, features, animations, documentaries, CSR videos and Public Service Videos, Charity films, the festival advocates the United Nations 17 Global Goals and also celebrates the work of UK's marginalised filmmakers. 

OSCAR, BAFTA and EMMY award-winners, as well as other luminaries from film and media, sustainability, and policy have been part of the festival and have supported it since inception. Winners from the festival have eventually won OSCARS and EMMY awards

What will you be doing?

We are looking for a dedicated researcher with a can-do attitude. The partnerships researcher must be able to:

• Conducting deep online research to identify partners and opportunities that align with our values
• Creating clear summaries and recommendations based on your findings
• Updating the team once a week (remotely) to discuss research progress and priorities.

What are we looking for?

A committed and meticulous person, passionate about making the world a more sustainable, safer and peaceful place

• Proven experience of research and working with the team to identify potential partners and stakeholders
• Experience conducting structured research to identify trends, gaps, or opportunities—especially in social, environmental, or nonprofit sectors
• Ability to research and maintain database of potential partners, work on lead generation and follow ups
• Prompt communication and timekeeping, ability to deliver on time
• Maintain confidentiality and utmost standards of professional etiquette.

What difference will you make?

Over 85% of people in the UK and even more, globally, are unaware of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)let alone take any steps to create a more sustainable world for themselves and in the process for others in this complexly interconnected world.

This highlights the need for such initiatives to educate the British as well as global societies about the UN SDGs. Your contributions can educate and inspire millions to act on the SDGs and bring positive changes that will impact all of us in this complexly interconnected world.

Most importantly your efforts will ensure that the film festival and the UK's marginalised filmmakers (LGBTQI+, women, disabled and ethnic minorities) get even more visibility, thus furthering the motto of the festival to celebrate inclusion and diversity whilst inspiring the civic society to act on the Global Goals. It will also help partner organisations join forces and work in synergy to amplify the impact of the initiative through communal as well as individual efforts. Thus, benefitting more lives that we would have helped acting alone.

Before you apply

If you think you may not have all the skills or experiences requested but feel you are a strong candidate, please do apply as you will be part of a team with a broad skill-set. As you will be working remotely we will provide you with as much support as possible. This application is urgent and we are looking for the right candidate to start as soon as possible.