The Chiltern Society | Anyone can do it!

Volunteering opportunities

Get involved with caring for the Chilterns, and meet new friends along the way.
Please download the Getting Involved form here (400KB PDF inside a ZIP archive), open with WinZip (or similar), print it out, fill it in and send it to us at the address shown at the bottom of the form.

	Chairperson for the Chiltern Society planning group The Chiltern Society has a great opportunity for an active, retired and experienced town planner or architect. This is an unpaid, part-time voluntary role and one in which you can make a real difference. The aim of our planning group is to 'encourage high standards of town and country planning and stimulate public interest in the care of the beauty, history and character of the Chilterns countryside and it's settlements'. The chairperson's role is to • ensure the planning group's aims are met • act as senior spokesperson on planning matters • liaise with the Society's other groups • act as advisor and point of reference to the group • chair meetings of the planning group • update the Society's Executive Council about significant planning issues You should have commitment, knowledge, leadership and communication skills and be happy to give up a few hours a week to help keep the Chilterns special. Interested? Please telephone the office manager Tracey Read on 01494 771250 (daytime) or volunteer co-ordinator Geoff Wiggett on 01442 875906 (evening) or e-mail office@chilternsociety.org.uk
	Volunteer Team Leaders Wycombe Area Christine Breden has led volunteer teams in conservation working parties for many years and has now retired and it has been decided that we should look for 2 replacement leaders in order to maintain and improve the service that Society volunteers have provided for communities and schools in the Wycombe council area. Christine and her team has traditionally operated on Saturday mornings, twice per month, working typically with Parish Councils on commons and ponds, and latterly working weekdays in schools with nature or woodland areas, but also with the Chiltern Open Air Museum. Christine is willing and able to work with new Team leaders for the coming season to hand over contacts and assist with advice on operating methods. Our partners are the Forestry Commission Wendover, Chilterns Conservation Board, Wycombe Ranger services, Natural England, etc. Christine has worked with all of these this year and made other contacts which she is willing to hand over to a new leader. Contact Tracey at the office on 01494 771250, or e-mail her at office@chilternsociety.org.uk and she will put you in touch with the right person.
	Volunteer team leader Working with Primary Schools to help children learn about fruit and vegetable growing, and creating nature areas on school grounds. We would like to hear from members interested in leading the ‘practical side’ of vegetable growing in either raised beds or just in grow bags, putting up a Willow tunnel, planting fruit trees and setting up wild life habitat areas. There is a lot of information on the internet about schools nature curriculums for the younger age group, and there are a lot of organisations that will guide both the teacher and us, as volunteers, about what practical aspects the children should be following to support their learning requirement. Someone with just basic gardening skills is all that is required to get some of these schools up and running. There are many practical ways to get various age groups to use all of the aspects from a simple – lets grow and eat what we have grown, to a much higher degree of using their gardens and vegetable growing to support their learning needs in a more formal way. Contact Tracey at the office on 01494 771250, or e-mail her at office@chilternsociety.org.uk and she will put you in touch with the right person.
	Volunteer team leader Working with Parish Councils and local Community Groups on conservation projects on public land. The small Chiltern Society team of conservation volunteers who work to maintain public land in the Wycombe area are now looking for a new leader. We work on ponds, commons and woodland areas. Previous skill is not required as training can be provided but there does need to be a commitment to organising and co-ordinating the activities with our partners and communicating with our volunteers. Christine is again willing and able to assist you in a hand over period. Does either of these opportunities appeal to you? For more information please contact Christine Breden on 01844 353192 or the Chiltern Society office on 01494 771250
	Retail Therapists Our shopkeepers have retired after five years of unstinting work for the Society. Selling cards and books mainly, plus Christmas cards and the Society calendar, it’s fun meeting new people, perhaps discussing some issue with them and possibly also persuading them to become Society members. Most local fairs and fêtes welcome us – supermarkets too, and in the run-up to Christmas, we sell lots of cards so it can be very satisfying. If you think you could help the Society’s retail initiative and/or if you can help deliver our Chiltern News magazine to certain destinations, please call Tracey at the office on 01494 771250, and she will put you in touch with the right person.
	Path Maintenance Volunteers Help keep footpaths, bridleways, stiles and steps in the South Chilterns (South Oxfordshire) in good condition and get some good healthy exercise with a very social group at the same time. No special skills necessary and feel free whether or not to join work sessions held three times a month. All tools and insurance cover supplied by the Chiltern Society. Contact: Peter Harden for further details: 01491 837688, peter@5hurst.fsnet.co.uk
	Conservation Volunteers and Visitor Centre Helpers Join a happy band of conservation volunteers at our Ewelme Watercress Beds and Local Nature Reserve, helping to keep the historic watercress beds in good order, or helping out in the visitor centre (entrance tickets; product sales; teas; etc.). Contact the Project Officer, Ann Truesdale, on 01491 835173. Central Chiltern Weekend Conservation Volunteers Covering from High Wycombe to Wendover, Latimer and the Chalfonts are always looking for volunteers to help in their work. For more information, please contact Christine Breden 01844 343192.
	Walks Leaders The Society has a busy walks programme, including walks of various lengths several times a month, which we very much wish to maintain and extend. We are always looking for volunteers to help us by leading walks, whether on a regular or an occasional basis. If you think you might like to do this please contact Judy Sonley, our Walks Co-ordinator, on 01494 712857. For further information on our walks programme, please navigate to Activities > Walking.
	Marketing Adviser Required to help promote the Society's brand image and Chilterns awareness. Please contact the office on 01494 771250 if you think you can help us.
	Planning Field Officers Planning Field Officers (PFO) keep a regular check on Planning Applications in their area and respond as necessary in line with Society Guidelines and Policies. Vacancies currently exist in the following areas : Luton and mid-Beds North Herts Three Rivers Anyone wishing to fill one of these roles should have a general interest in planning matters. No direct planning experience is necessary. This is an excellent way of getting to know what is happening in your area, and having some influence over future developments. Please contact Geoffrey Legge, Mark Januszewski or the Area Convenor (contact details in Directory) if interested.
	THE RIGHTS OF WAY GROUP. Though successful in ensuring that we are manned to cover many of our roles we do have other important ones vacant. In particular we have the following outstanding vacancies which we need to fill just as soon as possible: i) for an Area Secretary to cover an Area including the parishes of Berkhamsted, Bovingdon, Chipperfield, Flaunden, Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley, and Nash Mills in Dacorum Hertfordshire. The Area Secretary represents the Rights of Way Group’s interests in the area described, assisting and stimulating the County to maintain and improve the Rights of Way network and areas of Open Access, working with Path Representatives in monitoring the condition of paths and reporting to the County any problems found but also looking for opportunities to improve the network and opposing any proposals which if implemented would harm it. ii) Various roles in the north of the Society’s area e.g. in our North Herts area which covers the parishes of Hexton, Hitchin, Ickleford, Ippollitts, King’s Walden, Langley, Lilley, Pirton, Preston, Offley, and St. Paul’s Walden, and in one of our areas in Central Bedfordshire, which covers Harlington, Shillington, Barton le Clay, Chalton, Hyde, Streatley, Sundon, and Toddington We are very glad to have Path Representatives in some of the parishes named but remain generally underrepresented in the Areas described, have various roles to fill, and are very keen indeed to hear from anybody, who could spare some time, however little, to help us. All the roles are most likely to be of interest to members, who like to walk in the countryside and have an interest in its future, paricularly from the point of view of walkers and horse and cycle riders. The only essential qualifications for these roles are an interest in the countryside and the fitness to walk or ride paths. If you feel you might like to devote a part of your time to helping in any of these ways please contact Brian Lawson on 01494 815814.