BTCV Thames and Chilterns
BTCV in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire
BTCV in Thames and Chilterns seeks to support and encourage people to volunteer some of their time, skills and enthusiasm, to create and sustain environmental action within local communities. It does this by providing individuals with the necessary knowledge, skills, opportunities and confidence to do so, through a range of activities right across the three counties.
Owning no land, BTCV provides a unique bridge between individuals and their environment, by linking land managers and volunteers. Its activities result in a wide range of improvements for local communities, achieved through using the environment to deliver social, educational and health related outcomes.
In Thames & Chilterns, BTCV directly delivers a range of Conservation Holidays, training courses, Green Gyms and one-day conservation projects that are open to everyone. It also supports around 100 local conservation and community groups that are members of the BTCV Community Network and delivers Employee Action Days in partnership with businesses and other organisations.
Site last updated: Thursday 3rd July 2008 at 10:43pm; 2 training courses added; Abingdon Green Gym programme updated.
Site last updated: Tuesday 17th June 2008 at 8:12pm 4 training courses added; 2 training course links added.
Site last updated: Monday 9th June 2008 at 8:02am: Chipping Norton and Wallingford Green Gym programmes updated.
Site last updated: Thursday 22nd May 2008 at 11:24pm: 2 training course links added; training course date altered.
Want to Know More?
If you would like to be kept up to date with all the latest news from BTCV Thames & Chilterns via our bi-monthly e-mail Bulletin, please let us know by e-mailing us at: thamesandchilterns@btcv.org.uk
Our full, local contact details can be found at the foot of this page.
Latest Local News
Friends of Stoke Common Project Launched
We were very pleased recently to find out that an application we had made to the Heritage Lottery Fund Your Heritage Programme had been successful. We will be delivering a new three year project in partnership with the City of London Corporation, to set up a new Friends of group for Stoke Common in South Bucks. Stoke Common is the largest (83Ha) heathland in Buckinghamshire.
WREN Fund Projects in Aylesbury & Woodstock
We were also pleased to receive the news towards the end of last year that we had been awarded two grants from WREN, to carry out work as part of the management of the Woodstock Water Meadows in partnership with Woodstock Town Council, and the Aylesbury Riverside Walk in partnership with Aylesbury Vale District Council and the Riverside Walk Volunteers. The work at Woodstock will include the delivery of three Natural Break Conservation Holidays, the first ones to be run in Oxfordshire for many years.
Extension for Green Pioneers
Both of our Green Pioneers projects (one focused on Bicester and one covering most of Berkshire and parts of north Hampshire) have received extensions to enable them to continue through 2008. Green Pioneer projects are especially for young people (aged 16 - 24), their aim being to make conservation volunteering relevant, exciting and accessible to this age group.
BTCVTV
BTCV now has an official presence on a number of social networking sites. Some interesting videos of BTCV's work can be viewed at BTCVTV at YouTube.
BTCV Enterprises Launches New Website
BTCV Enterprises is possibly best known as the BTCV owned company that sells tools, trees and other merchandising (which can all be bought online via BTCV's web site from the online Shop). However, it's also a leading provider of recruitment and employment focused training in England. In fact the scale of the work it does matches that of the rest of BTCV, although this is targeted around supporting trainees, participants and learners, rather than volunteers and local groups. BTCV Enterprises now has its own website, so for a very different take on what BTCV does, have a look.
BTCV Tackles Climate Change
Last month BTCV issued a Position Paper on Climate Change which outlines our response to the challenges involved. BTCV is a founding signatory of The Third Sector Declaration on Climate Change, which challenged the Sector to put its own house in order. The Paper includes details of BTCV's commitment to change, which includes a 3% year on year reduction in its carbon emissions.
Insurance for Local Groups Update
The public and personal liability insurance package that BTCV offers to most local volunteer groups starts from about £100 a year for £5,000,000 of cover. Extensions to this are available, which include insurance for the loss of tools and equipment, employer's liability (for groups that employ up to five members of staff), the use of power tools, responsibly for land, or for increasing the overall level of cover to £10,000,000. Further details can be found in the BTCV Shop.
Happy Birthday Green Gym!
The BTCV Green Gym is 10 years old this year. The very first one in the world was set up in Sonning Common in Oxfordshire and is still going strong. There are now 102 operational across the UK, including 53 in England and the five in Oxfordshire. A celebratory event is being held in London in March.
What Have We Been Up To?
Between April 2005 and January 2008, BTCV worked with 611,245 volunteers, 6,619 groups and directly delivered 1,851,487 volunteer workdays on 46,291 sites. In addition to these, there are presently 1,873 groups that are members of BTCV, all involving more people working on more sites that are not part of the totals above.
You may be interested to know that between October - December 2007, BTCV in Thames & Chilterns worked with 373 volunteers, 24 groups and directly delivered 292.75 volunteer workdays on 28 sites, all accumulated through attending 70 directly delivered projects and meetings with groups and partners. There are also 97 groups that are members of BTCV in the three counties, all running lots of different activities as well. During most of this period there were only three of us working in the Team too.
Supporting Local Community Groups
We provide support to local organisations such as conservation volunteer, Friends of and special interest groups, as well as residents' associations and schools. Our services include the following:
- Community consultation
- Volunteer recruitment
- Training
- Onsite practical support
- Ecological advice
- Funding advice
- Insurance
For full details of what BTCV can do for local community groups in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire, please download the following document; (the file is 176KB in size):
Download BTCV Thames & Chilterns Local Group Support Briefing
For further information about the support BTCV can provide for local community groups, visit the Community Support section of our site.
To find a group near you to volunteer with, please download the following document, which gives details of the 80 or so groups that are members of BTCV’s Community Network in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire and that have asked BTCV to promote them; (the file is about 200KB in size):
Download BTCV Community Network Groups in Thames & Chilterns Listing
For information about all the groups that are members of BTCV's Community Network elsewhere in the country (there's about 2,500), please visit the Community Network section of our website.
Training
We provide one and two day training courses across the three counties in the following disciplines:
- Project Leadership
- Planning & Running Safe Community Projects (including Risk Assessment)
- Tool Use & Maintenance
- First Aid
- Practical Conservation Skills (e.g. hedge-laying, tree-planting, woodland management)
- Ecological Skills (e.g. wild flower identification)
For information about the training courses being offered by BTCV in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire, as well as a range of the ones available in neighbouring counties, please visit Training in Thames & Chilterns.
For information about all the training opportunities being offered by BTCV elsewhere in the country, please visit the Training section of the BTCV Shop.
Every Action Counts - Community Champions
So what's a Community Champion? It's someone who encourages local community groups, clubs and societies, to take small actions that support 'one planet living', by creating an action plan to create a more sustainable future. BTCV is looking to identify and train 1000 Community Champions in England over the next two years, as part of the Government's Every Action Counts Campaign. All the training is free and anyone can become a Community Champion, from individual members of existing groups to professional community workers.
For more details about Community Champions and the opportunity to register on-line, please visit the Community Champions section of our website.
Green Gym
Green Gyms promote health and fitness through conservation volunteering. They enable participants to become fitter and healthier by taking part in conservation activities, providing an attractive alternative to traditional exercise opportunities. Membership is free.
There are five Green Gyms operating in the Thames & Chilterns area, all in Oxfordshire.
For further information about Green Gyms, please visit The Green Gym.
For information about the Green Gyms in Oxfordshire, please visit The Green Gym in Oxfordshire.
For information about all the Green Gyms operating elsewhere in the country, please visit the Green Gym section of our website.
Employee Action Days
We have a long and successful track record of delivering practical, volunteering activities for a variety of organisations, including large corporations and public sector bodies.
These offer great opportunities for team building, strengthening links with local communities and a way of delivering and demonstrating Corporate Social Responsibility. The activities available vary according to the season, but always enhance wildlife and/or improve local community resources. In fact this area of our work has become so successful that’s now being co-ordinated by a network of dedicated staff right across the UK.
For further information about Employee Action Days, please visit BTCV Employee Action Days.
For full details of what BTCV can do to help your organisation take part in its own Employee Action Day in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire or Oxfordshire (or anywhere in the South-east, London or East Anglia), please contact us at:
Jon Diment (Corporate Projects Support Officer)
BTCV, 80 York Way, King’s Cross, London, N1 9AG.
Telephone: 020 7278 4294 (reception) / 020 7843 4275 (direct line)
Fax: 020 7278 5095
E-mail: j.diment@btcv.org.uk
Conservation Holidays
Do you fancy a weekend or longer away in the company of like minded people? BTCV runs a wide range of Conservation Holidays, in both the UK and beyond.
For further information about Conservation Holidays, please visit BTCV Conservation Holidays.
For information about the Conservation Holidays being planned by BTCV in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the neighbouring counties, please visit Conservation Holidays in Thames & Chilterns.
For information about all the Conservation Holidays BTCV has planned, both nationally and internationally, please visit the UK & International Conservation Holidays section of the BTCV Shop.
Contact Us
For further information on the work of BTCV in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire, please contact us at either:
BTCV, 16 Bridge Street, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire, RG4 8AA
Telephone: 0118 947 5049
E-mail: reading@btcv.org.uk
or
BTCV, Haydon Mill, Rabans Lane, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP19 8RU
Telephone: 01296 330 033
E-mail: aylesbury@btcv.org.uk
For further information on the work of BTCV elsewhere in the country, please contact us at:
BTCV, Sedum House, Mallard Way, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN4 8DB
Telephone: 01302 388 888
Fax: 01302 311 531
E-mail:
information@btcv.org.uk
For details of all BTCV's local offices elsewhere in the country, please visit the BTCV Local Offices section of our website.