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Welcome to the website of the Wednesday Conservation Volunteers.

On this page you will find an introduction to the group. Elsewhere on this site you will find photos of some typical tasks, our current programme with directions to each site, our contact details, useful information for volunteers—such as what to wear and what to bring with you— and information concerning safety and insurance.

An Introduction to WCV

The WCV, until 2001 the BTCV Wednesday group, are a roving group of volunteers who undertake practical conservation tasks in South Hampshire, generally on sites to which there is public access. Our aim is to assist land managers to meet their responsibilities for conservation. Those we have worked for include Hants County Council, Hants Wildlife Trust, the Borough Councils of Eastleigh and Test Valley, English Nature, Southern Water and the Butterfly Conservation Society. This range of employers means that we get to work on some of the best bits of Hampshire – have you seen the views from the top of Broughton Down or the sand-boils of Bishops Waltham, walked through clouds of Marbled White butterflies at Magdalen Hill Down, or admired the floral diversity of Fletchwood Meadows?

The WCV became independent of BTCV in April 2001. Our programme includes a large variety of sites and tasks, and we are always keen to broaden our experience still further – so if you are a land manager and need a group of enthusiastic volunteers to help you out with your conservation work, please do not hesitate to get in touch ( click here for contact details). We provide all the tools needed for most tasks, and the skills we have acquired through experience allow us to work quickly and efficiently.

For those unfamiliar with us, we tend to concentrate on habitat management and access improvement tasks, so we undertake such jobs as coppicing, planting, fencing, hedgelaying, construction of boardwalks, gates and steps, path improvements, nestbox installation, pond management, otter holt construction and so on. Our usual operating area covers south Hampshire from Totton in the west to Havant in the east, going north as far as Broughton, Winchester, Alresford and Selborne

On an average Wednesday, we attract 10 volunteers. Some have considerable experience of practical conservation, others much less. But there’s a first time for everyone, so if you are considering volunteering do not worry if you have never done this sort of thing before, as we will give you all the training and provide all the tools that you will need (see also useful information). As a volunteer, you will learn new skills, build your confidence and make new friends, all in addition to making a valuable contribution to the conservation of the Hampshire countryside.

We welcome new faces, so come and join a team which in an average year contributes over 2500 man– and woman-hours of voluntary effort to the conservation of south Hampshire.

If you feel a chat would be useful, please get in touch with us ( click here for contact details).

Links to other conservation groups and resources:

If you would prefer to do your conservation volunteering at weekends, why not join the Hampshire Conservation Volunteers?

If you live in north Surrey, you could contact the Surrey Hills Conservation Volunteers.

To find other local groups, look at Naturenet’s listing