This year Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is celebrating 50 years of working to protect wildlife and wild places.
Some of the Voluntary Conservation Groups are holding events over the summer in support of the Trust's work throughout the county. For details see individual Groups' sections below or visit
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust for more information. For junior members, you can also visit
Wildlife Watch.
After a long white winter, Spring 2011 has produced a glorious flush of wild flowers - which offer the promise of a great butterfly summer and a profusion of other insects from bees to dragonflies.
Wildflower areas are the basis of the whole community of wildlife - supporting the insects which supply the food for birds and mammals, and us.
Weed free mown grass may look neat but it is a food desert and supports very little wildlife. That is why wildflower meadows are so important and a major focus for the conservation groups of Basingstoke who look after them.
Opportunities for Conservation Volunteering
Are you interested in your local environment?
Do you have a passion for conservation and wildlife?
Then read on!
Read the attached article about the benefits of volunteering.
There are opportunities for you as an individual, a family or a social group to join the groups of volunteers already working in the following areas:
Black Dam Ponds and Crabtree Plantation
Chineham
Cliddesden
Glebe Gardens, Victory Park and King George Vth Playing Fields (Brookvale)
Kempshott
Mill Field Local Nature Reserve
Oakley
Old Down, Kempshott
Overton
Popley
South View
For more information on becoming a volunteer, visit the individual pages for each conservation group or call the Green Spaces Ranger on 01256 845649.
Conservation Work Parties
A list of conservation work parties for 2011 to 2012 can be found in the Work Party Schedule.
Employee volunteering
Are you looking for an opportunity to volunteer with your colleagues? Did you know that there are at least three ways of doing this?
Local conservation groups
Our conservation groups have a diverse range of activities that you could help them with. If you would like further information, please contact the Green Spaces Ranger on 01256 845649.
Employee Volunteering Network
Like the staff from Unum pictured in this photograph who have helped many groups with different tasks over the last few years, you too could help local charitable organisations and groups by becoming a member of the Employee Volunteering Network a scheme being coordinated by Basingstoke Voluntary Services.
Because our conservation groups are members of the network you can again help our conservation groups with activities such as path maintenance, coppicing, surveying, and tree planting. For more information on Basingstoke conservation volunteering, please see the website.
Wildlife Investor Scheme
Alternatively if you are not able to volunteer your company or organisation could become a member of the Wildlife Investor Scheme which is run by the Wildlife Trust and supports the good work done locally for conservation.
