South Ayrshire Council Ranger Service are offering the opportunity for young persons aged between 13-18 to learn new, or develop existing, skills in practical outdoor work. These sessions will introduce essential environmental conservation skills like basic bushcraft, use of manual hand tools and invasive non-native species control. The programme will run on a fortnightly basis (every second Saturday) and from 10am-12pm. Booking is essential so to book a place, or for more information, please feel free to contact the ranger service via ranger.service@south-ayrshire.gov.uk Our next session will take place on Saturday 21st October 2023 and then every two weeks thereafter. Sessions are suitable for one-off volunteering so attendance is not required at every session. Our meeting point is Rozelle Lodge, Rozelle Park, Monument Road, Ayr, KA7 4NQ

North Angus & District Scouts require a wide range of volunteer roles - from casual helpers to leaders, trainers, trustees and more – we have a role for everyone. We also offer flexible volunteering roles too, so we can fit around you and the time that you want to give to Scouting. We have 8 groups in North Angus, but 2 are more desperate for help. These are our Letham and Edzell Groups. What do volunteers do? Week by week, our volunteers empower thousands of young people to learn new skills, make new friends and stand on their own two feet. They’re our everyday heroes. They shape young people’s lives for the better, and find out a whole lot about themselves in the process, too. Today, there are nearly 60,000 young people on waiting lists to join us in the UK. We’re more relevant and more needed than ever, but it’s not always easy to keep up with the demand. That’s where you come in You don’t need to be Bear Grylls to join us. You don’t need to have been a Scout when you were younger. You don’t even need to know how to put up a tent. Our door is open to people of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds, and we’re only able to change lives because people like you lend a hand. We’re talking about tea makers, tidy-uppers and skill sharers. We’re talking about minibus drivers and first aiders. We’re talking about students who want to boost their CV, and parents who volunteer so they can spend more time together as a family. Whatever your skillset, lend a hand for as little or as much time as you can spare, and we promise you’ll get more out than you put in. Because whether you’re helping a leader to run an activity in the local town hall, organising a night away, or buttering 120 slices of bread a group of very hungry eleven-year-olds - no two Scout meetings are the same. The difference you make, though, is always great. We provide the training. All of our adult volunteers receive full induction and ongoing training and support. Our training has been recognised with a National Training Award by UK Skills and over 90% of our volunteers believe that the skills and experiences they have gained through Scouting have been of relevance to their working or personal lives. You show up, get stuck in, and make memories for life. As long as you're over 18, you can help out as an adult volunteer in Scouting. There is no upper age limit for adult volunteers. Sounds fun? Worthwhile? It is. To find out more, please contact Ian Fleming, District Commissioner, North Angus District Scout Council on dc@northangus.onmicrosoft.com

An exciting opportunity to join the Under the Trees team, working in the great and beautiful outdoors whilst gaining valuable experience working with young children and young adults. You will potentially be working in all weathers and in all seasons - we can provide waterproofs! Under the Trees runs fun and educational sessions for school children in the Falkirk and Stirling areas, as well as a programme of public events for all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Events run all year round. As a Volunteer Education Assistant, there will be opportunities for you to do a range of the following: - Assist with Educational Sessions for school groups, including term-time forest schools. - Assist with sessions for the general public, including a monthly nature club for ages 0-13. - Assist with holiday play sessions and family events. - Plan and lead in activities. - Maintain resources effectively. - Keep session areas safe and tidy. - Desk-based activities in planning, creating materials and administration.

Silver Birch (Scotland) Ltd. are looking for new directors to join the board who oversee the running of the established charity. Silver Birch (Scotland) Ltd. is based in Milton of Campsie providing work experience and skills for those with learning difficulties. The 11-acre site is owned by the charity and includes a factory and poly tunnels which contain soil feed and plants which they then sell to the public. The charity is looking for new directors to join their small board who meet every six weeks to discuss and manage issues pertaining to the staff and the property. We would be happy to meet anyone interested on site for a tour and to provide further information on what is involved in becoming a board member.

Rottal Vegetable Garden is a safe environment for people to come and connect with nature while learning to grow their own food in a sustainable way. Opening the farm on a Wednesday for volunteers to come and help out with different tasks, from shifting stones to weeding and sowing in a favourable environment for mental health recovery and post COVID recovery.

Get involved with Garden Club In 2021 Hospitalfield’s Walled Garden, designed by the horticulturalist Nigel Dunnett, opened to the public. The scheme was developed to reveal the unique horticultural history of the site at Hospitalfield, which has been tended as a garden for over 800 years. The garden and grounds at Hospitalfield are maintained, made fruitful and more beautiful with the fantastic support of our volunteers who meet regularly at Garden Club. Garden Club support the development of the garden from helping weed the gardens, sowing seeds, potting up plants and assisting with seasonal projects. Our next garden project is the development of the medicinal garden. The site at Hospitalfield has been populated since the 13th century when the monks who ran Arbroath Abbey established their hotel or hospital, here where we believe that they must have grown a medicinal garden and brewed potions as medicines to improve the health and wellbeing of those who they cared for. From January 2023 we are inviting a medicinal plant specialist to design the garden with Garden Club volunteers, Hospitalfield’s grounds keeping team and soon to be appointed Community Gardener. The new medicinal garden will be planted in a large area within the walled garden at Hospitalfield. As part of our upcoming Garden Club sessions we’ll be planning, preparing, and planting this new medicinal garden. Garden Club Volunteers meet regularly from 10am to 12pm on Fridays at Hospitalfield. We’re looking for volunteers to come along and get involved in the new medicinal garden at Hospitalfield. For full information on how to get involved and accessibility notes please see our website https://hospitalfield.org.uk/support/volunteer/garden-club/ or contact us at volunteer@hospitalfield.org.uk Minimum age: 18

Planning to redevelop a new area. Planting new bulbs will then need to be dug, and the area would then be prepared for new planting by adding new topsoil and compost. The final stage would be to replant the area with new shrubs and other plants.

Put your skills to use, learn new ones and play an active role in your community. Volunteering is easier than you think. with full support and training, you can volunteer on a flexible basis. Give young people the skills they need to succeed in life and discover how being part of the Scouting family can be as rewarding for you as it is for them. What do volunteers do? Week by week, our volunteers empower thousands of young people to learn new skills, make new friends and stand on their own two feet. They’re our everyday heroes. They shape young people’s lives for the better, and find out a whole lot about themselves in the process, too. That’s where you come in. You don’t need to be Bear Grylls to join us. You don’t need to have been a Beaver or Scout when you were younger. You don’t even need to know how to put up a tent. Our door is open to people of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds, and we’re only able to change lives because people like you lend a hand. We’re talking about tea makers, tidy-uppers and skill sharers. We’re talking about minibus drivers and first aiders. We’re talking about students who want to boost their CV, and parents who volunteer so they can spend more time together as a family. Whatever your skillset, lend a hand for as little or as much time as you can spare, and we promise you’ll get more out than you put in. We provide the training. All of our adult volunteers receive full induction and ongoing training and support. Our training has been recognised with a National Training Award by UK Skills and over 90% of our volunteers believe that the skills and experiences they have gained have been of relevance to their working or personal lives. You show up, get stuck in, and make memories for life. As long as you're over 18, you can help out as a Beaver leader. There is no upper age limit for adult volunteers. Sounds fun? Worthwhile? It is.

Murton is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC031554) with a dual educational and environmental purpose. We are situated on a former quarry near Forfar in Angus and manage a thriving nature reserve, visitor farm and tearoom set in 100 acres. The vision - to provide a unique environment in which children, young people and adults can learn and develop skills for life. The mission - Murton aspires to enrich people’s lives by using our site to its full potential. We can offer our unique environment as an educational centre that offers a positive impact on all ages. We hope to be a thriving and sustainable charity valued in the community and recognised nationally. The aims of Murton are: • To provide educational opportunities that encourages learning and developing skills for life. • To maintain and establish a thriving nature reserve that encourages access to the outdoors. • To effectively run a visitor farm and tearoom on our site that offers a recreational and leisure facility and generates income to support our educational work. • To maintain and develop strong connections with our community through our leadership, work and on our site. We have compulsory meetings once per quarter. Dependent on the Trustees interest and skills we expect further input throughout the year. As a minimum the Trust Manager speaks to each Trustee at least once a month.

Saturday Sacks litter pick sees local young people and adults cleaning up the local area. Do you have a few hours to spare to help them? Want to help the environment and clean up the town Sometimes the group are joined by their sponsor Mark Guild from Guild Homes and local important people. Next litter pick will be in January keep an eye out for more information in the new year or contact Denise Black 07738419810 for more information if you wish to come along and help, we hope to see you there. https://www.guild-homes.co.uk/ #FCFT.