Cambridge Conservation Volunteers have been provding practical help to nature reserves in and around Cambridge since 1962. We also work at sites elsewhere in East Anglia, the UK and Europe. Explore the map for some of our past and present work sites.
Our tasks are normally on Sundays. See the calendar for the upcoming tasks. A lot of the work we do is maintaining habitats for wildlife. A side effect of traditional industry and agriculture was the habitat they provided for wildlife. As the economy changed so did the working practices that maintained the habitats which became overgrown and lost their wildlife value.
We help by providing the skills and labour needed to maintain the habitats in the traditional way. This often means cutting back scrub that would have been kept down by grazing and coppicing trees that would have been part of commercial management to produce woodland products.
For example the local fens used to provide reeds for thatching but if they are not kept in production the trees take over and they become dark woods with little value to wildlife, so we help with the cutting and raking of reeds to keep the fens in their traditional state.
We also help with building project such as building foot paths and board walks for visitor access in East Anglia and building a Vulture feeding station in Bulgaria.