Nature volunteering with the Friends (weekly on Tuesdays and the first Sunday of each month - 11:00 to 15:00)

Get involved in helping us care for the wildlife and plant life of the Cemetery Park, learn about conservation and gain new skills, and meet like-minded people! We supply all tools and equipment. You need to bring your own lunch, and wear clothes and shoes suitable for working outdoors. You must be 16 or older to attend. Sundays book up quickly, but it's worth joining the waiting list as people do cancel. If you have difficulty booking, please email contact@fothcp.org or call 0203 982 8670 and leave a message with your name, phone, email, and the date you'd like to book.

Please note that this volunteer opportunity is for individuals and is not available to corporate groups and companies. If you would like to arrange a group activity for your organisation please email us to discuss options - contact@fothcp.org.

What to bring

1. Wear sturdy shoes, trousers (no shorts!), and ideally long sleeves. Dress for the weather. Wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. We have lots of stinging nettles and brambles!
2. Bring lunch and a water bottle/reusable cup. We'll provide biscuits, tea, coffee and tap water.
3. If you have them: Bring your own gardening/work gloves.
4. Please do not bring anything you aren’t willing to carry with you.
5. If you cycle, there is no indoor bike storage. You can lock it up outside on railings.

On the day

1. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start time and go to the meeting area: in front of the Cemetery Park Lodge, E3 4PX. We begin work on time and we only wait 5 minutes for latecomers.
2. Staff will tell give you instructions for both the tasks you'll be doing, and health & safety measures (e.g. tool use). If you don't follow these instructions, you will be asked to leave. We have a Code of Conduct that we expect our volunteers to read and comply with. You can read the Code of Conduct here. 
   
3. Staff will stay with the group - both for a chat and any questions you have. There may be periods when the group is not directly supervised by a staff member if an urgent matter arises. 

Access statement

1. This is an accessible, inclusive volunteering activity. The maximum number of participants is 25.
2. Volunteering activities will require walking to the work area and may involve using wheelbarrows to move green waste around the site. The total distance covered will be less than 2km. The paths are approximately 1-2m wide. The surface is crushed concrete fines, a type of hard-packed fine gravel (which doesn't turn to mud in rain) or earth although we may head into some areas off the paths where access is more limited by uneven walkways. There are benches with backs at regular distances around the Cemetery Park. Some of the site is shaded. There is on-street parking in the area.
3. Please contact us with at least 2 weeks’ notice if you’d like BSL or other interpretation/translation and we will do our best to accommodate. Sadly we have no-one in house who is able to offer this service.
4. Toilets will be available in the Cemetery Park Lodge. There is a disabled toilet in the Cemetery Park Lodge. There is no adult changing table or hoist. We will be working about a 5-10 minute walk from our toilet facilities.
5. If you need space to pray throughout the day, please let us know and we'll do our best to offer you a private space.
6. We aim to make our events as accessible as possible, and are learning constantly how to do this better. If you would like to let us know about any specific requirements or access needs that you would like us to meet, or offer feedback on our accessibility arrangements, please email contact@fothcp.org. We want you to feel safe in nature.
7. We aim to make our events as accessible as possible, and are learning constantly how to do this better. If you would like to let us know about any specific requirements or access needs that you would like us to meet, or offer feedback on our accessibility arrangements, please email contact@fothcp.org. We want you to feel safe in nature.

Contact us for more info - 0203 982 8670 or email us on contact@fothcp.org

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