Volunteering, Training and Learning

Help celebrate the landscape and learn new skills

The Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership needs YOU to help conserve, enhance and celebrate the unique landscape and cultural heritage of the Clyde and Avon valleys. From archaeology to archival research, education and environmental volunteering roles, there are a wide range of volunteering, training and learning opportunities available. Learn some new skills or contribute skills you already have individually, or as a group, and make a difference along the way.

Take a look at the list of opportunities below and get in touch to find out more. Please visit Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire and Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire for further listings of opportunities available in your area.

Chatelherault Country Park environmental volunteering

Chatelherault Country Park environmental volunteering
Volunteer conservation and heritage enthusiasts will carry out vital path repair work, vegetation clearance and carpentry projects to help improve the biodiversity value of the woodland and enhance the visitor experience in the most visited designed landscape in the Clyde and Avon valley.

Volunteering will take place on various Wednesdays from 10:15am – 2:30pm, as listed below, with the exception of Thursday 14 September:

Wednesday 6, Thursday 14, Wednesday 20 September

Wednesdays 4, 18 October

Wednesdays 1, 8, 15, 22; Thursdays 16, 30 November

Wednesdays 6, 13 December

Tuesdays 9, 23 January

Tuesdays 6, 20 February

Tuesdays 6, 20 March

To volunteer to take part on the conservation activities at Chatelherault or to find out more, get in touch with Clydesdale Community Initiatives by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01555 664211.

Clyde and Avon Valley Exhibition Steward volunteers: CAVLP Heritage

Clyde and Avon Valley Exhibition Steward volunteers: CAVLP Heritage
A final exhibition, celebrating the culture, heritage and unique landscape of the Clyde and Avon Valley is set to take place at Chatelherault Country Park from 16 February to 19 March 2018.

CAVLP Heritage are looking for volunteer stewards will be required to invigilate during exhibition opening times, in half or full day slots. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 01555 661 555 to register your interest and to find out more.

Community Gardening at Castlebank Park - second Tuesdays in the month

Community Gardening at Castlebank Park - second Tuesdays in the month
Interested in gardening? Then why don't you come along and take part in some fun gardening sessions with Lanark Community Development Trust and Clydesdale Community Initiatives to help maintain this beautiful area. All tools will be provided. Please wear weather appropriate clothing.

The dates are as follows:

Tuesday 13 June

Tuesday 11 July

Tuesday 15 August - please note this is the 3rd Tuesday of the month

Tuesday 12 September

Tuesday 17 October

Tuesday 14 November

Tuesday 12 December

Tuesday 30 January

Tuesday 27 February

Tuesday 27 March

Please contact CCI for full details on 01555 664 211 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

GIS map making volunteers: CAVLP Heritage

Interested in heritage and technology? Volunteers are being recruited to help create GIS (geographic information system) 3D maps of heritage features in the Clyde and Avon valley through time, such as glasshouses, brickworks, Roman roads, farms, etc. Maps will be created using information currently held and once volunteers have been trained, they will be able to work on projects at home.

Training will be given on how to create GIS maps. Dates will be announced soon. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 01555 661 555 to register your interest and to find out more.

Jock's Burn Community Clear-ups, Carluke - second Wednesdays in the month

Jock's Burn Community Clear-ups, Carluke - second Wednesdays in the month
Roll up your sleeves and get behind a community clean-up of Jock’s Burn in Carluke with Clydesdale Community Initiatives (CCI). All ages and backgrounds are urged to come together and lend a hand to spruce up this little oasis of nature in the town. Help out with de-littering, clearing debris from the burn, and tidying up and repairing steps.

Jock’s Burn is one of the few places in Carluke where people can experience a bit of nature, including residual ancient flora and fauna that would have at one time cloaked the local area. The importance of Jock’s Burn to the local community has been highlighted in community consultations and identified as a vital corridor for people to walk and cycle to work and school by the Make Your Way project. Popular with dog walkers, it will soon be home to a new school orchard through a project with Central Scotland Green Network Trust (CSGNT), Carluke Development Trust and seven local primary schools.

The dates are as follows, 10:15am - 2pm:

Wednesday 14 June

Wednesday 12 July

Wednesday 9 August

Wednesday 13 September

Wednesday 11 October

Wednesday 29 November

Wednesday 20 December

Wednesday 10 January

Wednesday 14 February

Wednesday 14 March

No experience required. Tea, coffee and tools provided. Please bring a packed lunch and suitable clothing / footwear for outdoors. If you don’t have appropriate footwear, please advise CCI upon booking as a range of sizes are available for loan. Booking is essential on 01555 664 211 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Life in the Cadzow Oaks - deadwood invertebrates survey volunteers. Thursdays and Fridays

Life in the Cadzow Oaks - deadwood invertebrates survey volunteers. Thursdays and Fridays
The Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow are looking for volunteers to assist in regular fieldwork, including trap checking and general surveying duties at the Cadzow Oaks site until March 2018. No experience is necessary as training will be given.

The survey focusses on invertebrate species, most notably spiders and beetles such as the nationally notable rove beetle Bibloplectus pusillus or the cobweb beetle Ctesias serra. Survey results will be compared to a survey completed over 50 years ago, the results of which are held in the Hunterian Museum. It is hoped that the survey will confirm the presence and abundance of key species that were recorded in the past and note any changes. Findings will be used to inform management plans, ensuring the appropriate conservation of these unique habitats for the future.

Volunteers will be able to enjoy surveying whilst spending time in a beautiful landscape, some of which is usually inaccessible to the general public. The amount of time that volunteers can contribute to the project is flexible, but volunteers should be available through the day on Thursdays and / or Fridays to fit in with the project schedule.

Contact Jeanne Robinson, Curator of Entomology at the Hunterian Museum at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 0141 330 2303, Monday – Wednesday.

Local Landscape Heroes oral history volunteers: CAVLP Heritage

Local Landscape Heroes oral history volunteers: CAVLP Heritage
Do you, or does anyone you know, have any memories of industry, horticulture or agriculture in the area they would like to share? CAVLP Heritage are looking for people who would be willing to share their stories as part of the Local Landscape Heroes project that will make up part of the Clyde and Avon Valley Exhibition in February and March 2018.

Training will be given on how to record voices / memories. Dates will be announced soon. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 01555 661 555 to register your interest and to find out more.

Make Your Way Millheugh volunteering

Make Your Way Millheugh volunteering
Come and help improve vital walking and cycling routes from Millheugh, Larkhall, leading to Chatelherault Country Park with Clydesdale Community Initiatives - CCI.

Volunteer work will involve cutting back vegetation, clearing moss and loose material, scraping steps and installing fencing. The volunteering intitiative is taking place as part of the Make Your Way arts, heritage and active travel project taking place around Chatelherault Country Park until March 2018.

All sessions take place 10:15am - 12:30pm on the following dates:

Tuesday 19 December

Previously scheduled dates of Tuesday 16, Wednesday 17 have been cancelled due to the weather and will take place on Wednesday 24 January and Wednesday 31 January

No experience necessary. Please contact CCI to book a place or for further details on 01555 664 211 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mauldslie Woods Volunteering Team Days - First Thursday in the month

Mauldslie Woods Volunteering Team Days - First Thursday in the month
Love being outdoors? Love your local woodland? Join the new Mauldslie Woods Volunteering Team the first Thursday of every month, 10:15am – 3pm.

Working in Mauldslie Woods in all seasons, join in with Clydesdale Community Initiatives to learn new woodland maintenance skills, make friends and have fun whilst carrying out a programme of essential tasks to help care for the woodland, part of the Clyde Valley National Nature Reserve (NNR).

No experience required. Tea, coffee and tools provided. Please bring a packed lunch and suitable clothing / footwear for outdoors. If you don’t have appropriate footwear, please advise CCI upon booking as a range of sizes are available for loan.

Sessions take place on:

Thursday 4 May 2017

Thursday 1 June 2017

Thursday 13 July 2017 - please note this is the second week in July

Thursday 10 August 2017 - please note this is the second week in August

Thursday 7 September 2017

Thursday 5 October 2017

Thursday 2 November 2017

Thursday 14 December 2017 - please note this is the second week in December

Thursday 11 January 2018

Thursday 1 February 2018

Thursday 8 March 2018

Thursday 5 April 2018 – celebration final session

Public Transport Links - Service 317 Hamilton – Clyde Valley – Larkhall – Lanark

Booking is essential on 01555 664 211 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . More details are available at clydeandavonvalley.org/news-hub/item/volunteers-sought-to-join-the-new-mauldslie-woods-volunteering-team

OutLET: Play Resource volunteers

OutLET: Play Resource volunteers
Outdoor Learning and Education Training: Play Resource is a social enterprise based in South Lanarkshire, using play and culture to ‘level the playing field’ for those affected by social, emotional and economic deprivation.

OutLET: Play Resource put on a huge spread of outdoor play, Forest School and training opportunities in the local area, relying on volunteers to provide as many play opportunities they can.

Gain new skills, make friends and help create play opportunities for local children by volunteering with OutLET: Play Resource! Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call / text Jackie on 07770973256 to find out more, or visit http://outletplayresource.co.uk

Planting the Past Chatelherault Herbaceous Borders volunteering

Planting the Past Chatelherault Herbaceous Borders volunteering
Planting the Past volunteers will work with South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Trust to help restore the 18th century herbaceous border at Chatelherault to it's original glory.

Volunteer to help replant the culinary, medicinal, and aromatic shrubs and plants, which would have originally been planted in the historic garden border surrounding the William Adam designed hunting lodge, now Visitor Centre. The plants within this 18th century garden were not only grown for their beauty and fragrance but also for their medicinal and culinary virtues.

If you are interested in joining the Planting the Past volunteer group who meet on Saturdays and Tuesdays from 10am onwards, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 01698 426 213.

Planting the Past is managed by South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Trust in collaboration with horticultural specialist Elaine Lauder, with support from Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ fund and Heritage Lottery Fund and LEADER supported Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP).

Stonehouse Park Environmental Volunteering - second Thursdays in the month

Stonehouse Park Environmental Volunteering - second Thursdays in the month
Join CCI and Friends of Stonehouse park to take part in environmental volunteering including clearing pathways and making new benches. All are welcome, please wear weather appropriate clothing and footwear. All tools will be provided.

The dates are as follows:

Thursday 29 June - please note this is the 5th Thursday of the month

Thursday 20 July

Thursday 17 August

Thursday 21 September

Thursday 19 October

Thursday 23 November

Thursday 21 December

Thursday 25 January

Thursday 29 March

Meeting place is the Pavillion in Stonehouse Park at 10.15am.

If you would like to book a place or find out more information, please call CCI on 01555 664 211 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Volunteer gardeners, Hareleeshill Community Gardens, Larkhall

Volunteer gardeners, Hareleeshill Community Gardens, Larkhall
Have green fingers or interested in expanding your gardening knowledge? Join the Hareleeshill Community Gardens volunteers every Tuesday, 10am - 1pm.

Hareleeshill Community Gardens is set in Wilkies Crescent, Hareleeshill, Larkhall. There's a beautiful mix of gardens to be seen - a wildlife garden, sensory garden and growers beds.

Come along, meet the team, have a tea / coffee and a chat before starting. This opportunity will get you out mixing with new people, learning new skills in the garden or building on existing ones.

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01698 888 197 to find out more.

www.larkhallcommunitygrowers.com

New Lanark World Heritage Site volunteers

New Lanark World Heritage Site volunteers

New Lanark World Heritage Site have volunteering opportunities in the Archive and Search Room, Events and Exhibitions, Crafts and Learning, Playparks and Gardens, and the Double Row Restoration Project. Read more on the New Lanark website. Please get in touch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 01555 661 345 to find out more.

North Lanarkshire Council environmental volunteers

North Lanarkshire Council offer environmental volunteering opportunities in council managed sites including Dalzell Estate. To find out more, contact the Countryside Ranger Service directly on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 01698 402090. 

Other volunteering opportunities in Archives, Active Schools, short breaks for children and young people with disabilities and Care Share voluntary befriending project can be viewed on the North Lanarkshire Council website. 

RSPB Baron’s Haugh environmental volunteers

RSPB Baron’s Haugh environmental volunteers

RSPB Baron's Haugh have regular volunteering groups every Thursday from 10.00 – 3.00, as well as ocassional Saturdays.

RSPB Baron’s Haugh also has many other volunteering opportunities, from environmental conservation to wildlife surveying. Visit the RSPB Baron’s Haugh website or contact RSPB directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 0141 331 0993 for more information.

Scottish Wildlife Trust Falls of Clyde environmental volunteers

Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) offer volunteering opportunities from environmental conservation to wildlife surveying and events. Visit Scottish Wildlife Trust Falls of Clyde, Scottish Wildlife Trust Volunteering, or contact SWT directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 01555 665 262 for more information.

South Lanarkshire Council conservation and Adopt-a-Path volunteers

South Lanarkshire Council offer environmental volunteering opportunities including conservation work days and Adopt-a-Path volunteers on council managed land including Chatelherault and Mauldslie woodlands.  To find out more and for contact details, visit the South Lanarkshire Council Environmental Volunteering page. 

Other volunteering opportunities in Community Transport, Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire’s Volunteering Initiative, Retail, Fundraising, Youth Work, Office and Administration, Mentoring and Befriending can be viewed on the South Lanarkshire Council website. 

Volunteer Tour Guides required at Craignethan Castle

Volunteer Tour Guides required at Craignethan Castle
Historic Environment Scotland is currently recruiting for a range of new and exciting volunteer roles, including Volunteer Tour Guides at Craignethan Castle to help tell the story of this impressive historic site.

Please get in touch if you are interested in getting involved and feel free to forward this information to any of your contacts. Contact Craignethan Castle on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Craignethan Castle is open 1 April to 30 September, 7 days a week, 9.30am to 5.30pm. The Castle is closed 1 October to 31 March.

The link below provides further information, including other volunteering opportunities across the country: www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/volunteer-with-us