Gardener (Garden and conservation volunteers)

If you love gardens and enjoy gardening, we would love to hear from you!

We have an exciting summer ahead of us with developing a conservation area and the relocation of the RSPCA RHS garden to Stapeley Grange. For this we need your help and expertise! As well as ongoing involvement in rewilding an area for nature and caring for the garden and its legacy, there are key times during the relocation where we will need a team of volunteers to work with us and the garden designer and builders to bring it to life on our site. Do you feel you could be involved with this exciting project?

Key weeks are the first week in June when the first phase of the garden’s arrival and build is due. Once the main structures are in, there will be another week working alongside the designer to fill the garden with over 4000 plants. Ongoing there will be regular maintenance opportunities and we will be hosting public events and community groups linked to this garden and the work of our centre, which you can also be involved in.

We're also looking for volunteers who can help us long-term with our grounds, with tasks including weeding, pruning and general maintenance of garden areas and borders. You will also be helping with projects such as wildlife gardening or play areas for children and preparing the grounds for open days and other events. You may also help with lawn mowing and strimming, keeping our grassy areas looking presentable.

You will be interacting with visitors where appropriate, while promoting the RSPCA and supporting other events when you are available. The Society takes the health and safety of their staff and volunteers very seriously so any volunteers will need to complete some online training which we can support. New volunteers will also be asked to attend an induction afternoon.

For this role it would be great if you can bring some knowledge and experience of basic gardening, but this is not essential. You'll be part of a team who like to get stuck in and have a willingness to help out and get their hands dirty. You should be happy to work outdoors in unpredictable British weather!

Our Volunteer Gardeners play an important role in keeping our Animal Centres looking smart, creating space for nature and giving a great impression to members of the public visiting our site. Your time will free up the time of our staff, who can focus on looking after the animals in our care.

If this sounds like the role for you then please click the 'apply' button now, we look forward to hearing from you!