Charnwood Forest Volunteers

A project to grow and support a committed team of volunteers actively caring for Charnwood Forest and to better co-ordinate volunteering across the Forest. We will increase engagement in volunteering from within the urban communities of Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville.

Geoconservation volunteers stand in front of a rocky outcrop.

THE ACTION

Aims

The project aims to grow and support a committed team of volunteers actively caring for Charnwood Forest and to better co-ordinate volunteering across the Forest. The aim is to increase the engagement of volunteering from within the urban communities of Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville. The project will build capacity among local community groups and help groups to adapt and develop new, flexible volunteering opportunities.

Achievements

Geoconservation Volunteers

We have created a new geoconservation volunteers group to support caring for our most important geological sites.

Volunteer Litter Picking

Including special events for Great British Spring Clean

More than 10,000 hours volunteered

Read the story on how much time our volunteers have given.

Read here

New Volunteer Group at Mount St Bernard Abbey

Read the full story

New Woodland Management Group

Working at Beacon Hill, this group supports the staff at this County Council owned site.

Projects

Charnwood Forest Trails

Improving priority rights of way and creating links to provide a joined up network of clear, themed, guided and self- guided walks and cycle routes from urban centres and honeypot sites.

Choose How You travel

Guides and support for sustainable travel to get to and around Charnwood Forest by rail, bus, cycling and walking.

Geopark on Your Doorstep

A community outreach project to enable more people and a wider range of people to engage with Charnwood Forest’s landscape and heritage.

A Warm Welcome

Providing a high quality experience for visitors by improving small scale tourism facilities, the quality and welcome of sites, and the coherence of the visitor offer.

Unearthing What’s Special About Charnwood Forest

This project will encourage and enable people to explore and research the layers of heritage.

Celebrating Charnwood Forest

Engaging people through a variety of art forms and events to record and celebrate local heritage, stories and traditions.

A Learning Landscape

An outdoor learning development programme which helps to create outdoor learning facilities and engages learners of all ages to learn in and about the landscape.

Fire Your Imagination

Engaging communities in developing an exciting range of interpretive media across all types of heritage for a broad audience.

Charnwood Forest Food and Products

This project will provoke conversations about produce from the Forest, reduce environmental impacts and food waste and support small producers.

A Coherent Wildlife Network

A bigger, better, more joined up approach to managing Charnwood Forest, linking up and extending out from the central area where the best wildlife habitats remain.

Charnwood Forest Rocks

Charnwood Forest has a truly distinctive geoheritage rooted in its Precambrian fossils – some of the earliest evidence of animal life.

Built From the Geopark

A project to investigate and map the condition of Charnwood Forest’s dry stone walls to better understand their complex construction and establish how best to care for them.