Volunteering

Eltham Common Saturday, 9th May 2026 What a beautiful, sunny morning we had for our May Litter Picking session. The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and our plan was to litter pick in what is, arguably, one of the most relaxing spaces to pick - the woods of Eltham Common. Kitted up and ready for action! Kitted out in Hi-Vis vests, with rings, bags and pickers handed out, we split into two groups: one group started by picking in and around the car park, working their wa

Oxleas Wood Saturday, 9th May, 2026 Another, sunny morning in the woodlands and what a beautiful area to work, amongst the blossom, flowers and wildlife. This time we concentrated our efforts on clearing the main invasive plant in this particular wood - rhododendron! As a SSSI, we are tasked with conserving this ancient woodland by reducing and preventing the spread of this plant which was, most likely, introduced within the garden of the Victorian era mansions that once st

Jack Wood Friday, 1st May 2026 This session fell on a Bank Holiday weekend - a hot day too - but this did not prevent our team of 8 dedicated volunteers from continuing our work in Jack Wood, where the trees meet the path up to the cafe from the Rochester Way. Ready for action! Firstly, we found a space to place the cut Snowberry which was removed at the previous session. Building a dead hedge within the shade of the tree-line, at the top margin of Oxleas Meadow, seemed lik

Shepherdleas Wood - Pathways and Ditches 28th April 2026 For many years, an area on the Green Chain Walk, close to the Falconwood entrance to Shepherdleas has been impassable in the winter. Rainwater overflowed the collapsed bridge and ditch and flooded the path. For the last three years we have carried out activities to improve this: we have cleared the drain, replaced the bridge edges, inserted a drainpipe, cleared the ditch, built a small dam, cleared mulch from the path

Oxleas Wood - Friday, 24th April, 2026 This second of five special Barclays volunteering days in 2026 had been organised since early last autumn. Everyone was looking forward to the day, and indeed, we had several ‘returners’ demonstrating their enjoyment of previous days and a growing attachment to our aims, particularly as many volunteers live outside London itself, never mind Greenwich! It was, therefore, a great disappointment for all involved when a public transport st

On Sunday, a half dozen volunteers sat down on the grass in Jackwood and got to work on a bit of detail weeding.

Jack Wood - Pathways, Verges and Edges 17 th April 2026 On this bright, mild day, a cheerful group of 15 volunteers set off from our meeting point, pushing two wheelbarrows loaded with garden forks, spades, loppers, and two tree-pullers. Eight volunteers headed to the edge of Jack Wood and Oxleas Meadow to tackle a dense wall of invasive snowberry. This proved to be a mammoth task. It involved digging into a thick carpet of roots to loosen them, using tree-pullers to lever

Woodland Edges - Rochester & Welling Ways Saturday, 11th April 2026 Litter Picking along the woodland edges of the Rochester and Welling Ways is always rewarding and Saturday’s session was no exception. At this time of the year, it’s especially uplifting to see spring flowers pushing through and bringing the woodland floor back to life. It makes our efforts feel even more worthwhile. With the surroundings at their best, the presence of litter feels all the more out of plac

The main task was to continue clearing the beds, removing obvious weeds to give emerging plants the space and resources they need to thrive.

Jack Wood 3rd April 2026 Good Friday turned out to be an excellent session for the woodlands when an amazing 23 volunteers turned up in force to reinstate the dead hedge which, just a week ago, was burnt to the ground. That's another 69 hours' work replacing two-thirds of a hedge that we had built just over a year ago! Frustrating - yes - but an opportunity, as always, to learn and to improve our methods. Our plan - to build in something which would slow down any fire whil

This Saturday, there were definite signs of spring about. We were back in the coppicing area, but not to coppice trees. With leaf buds forming, its too late in the year to cut hazel. Instead, we're working on dealing with all the material that's been generated over the winter. And there's a lot of it. We'd already made one length of dead hedge with a solidity and height that made it good for a bench, and since we liked it, we thought we could make another. Three of the cre

Shepherdleas Wood 24th March 2026 Today, the sunshine had disappeared and the temperatures had dropped but, nevertheless, it was great weather for working in the woods. Nine volunteers joined us in Shepherdleas to continue our activities improving the pathside verges. As usual, we began by removing, or reducing in height, invasive and competitive shrubs which were casting shade on the verges and preventing vegetation from growing which are needed for butterflies and pollinat

Twelve volunteers, including GoodGym and DofE participants, made great spring progress in Jackwood House Garden — clearing winter deadheads, careful weeding and even uncovering a long-lost path.

Jack Wood Friday, 20th March 2026 Sunshine, birdsong, spring flowers, companionship and working together to make a difference. That’s what our 22 amazing volunteers were treated to today - and what a great session it was too! New volunteers, returning volunteers, and core volunteers, all worked together in groups, moving in and out of different activities as they felt like a change and, somehow, everything came together to produce yet another l....o....n....g s..t..r..e..

Saturday, 14th March 2026 Jack Wood - Renewing Dead Hedging This month the Saturday Woodland Conservation Group (SHWWP) returned to an area in Jack Wood, just beyond the formal gardens and bounded by the Green Chain Walk, to rebuild sections of the decayed dead hedges built some years ago. This area contains swathes of native bluebells which are currently at risk from trampling due to the many informal paths criss-crossing this ecologically sensitive area. Eighteen cheery

On Friday 13th March, volunteers carried out the annual rose pruning in Castle Wood Garden. By removing damaged wood, opening up the centre of the plants and cutting back to outward-facing buds, the team has set the roses up for healthy growth and a strong display of flowers later in the year.

Oxleas Wood Saturday, 7th March 2026 Half the happy band of 16 litter pickers - just managed to get a photo! Despite the grey, drizzly weather on Saturday, we had another good turnout for our March Litter Picking Session – a happy band of 16 people. This month’s pick returned to the area in and around Oxleas Café and car park and, as usual, we collected a large amount of litter. There were 33 bags of general rubbish, plus the usual additions, such as oddments of clothing,

From protecting native bluebells to building wildlife-friendly dead hedges, volunteers made a real difference during our woodland conservation session. Discover what the team achieved.

On this grey sort of a Saturday at the end of February, the crew were back in the coppicing area.

Tree Laying in Shepherdleas Wood Tuesday, 24th February 2026 What a beautiful day, Tuesday turned out to be. The temperatures were higher, the sun was shining and there was a definite feel of spring in the air - with trees budding, birds chirping and wildflowers emerging. We had seven volunteers, two of whom were new to the session - and very much welcome, of course. Introductions were made, instructions given on activities and a demonstrations of techniques was provided f