Published: 10/1/25
At The Parks Trust we have a superb team of volunteers who support our Outdoor Learning Leaders during the delivery of our Youth Group sessions. These include Youth Explorers: a 5-week course for 11 -14-year-olds and Youth Rangers: a monthly conservation volunteering opportunity for 14-17-year-olds. The input of our adult volunteers during these sessions is vital, particularly in assisting those with additional needs, making sure that all participants get the most out of each session.
We often have newcomers who may be anxious about meeting the group for the first time and our volunteers are always on hand to help make this easier for our attendees, talking with them about their interests or career aspirations and finding ways to encourage them to join in with group activities.
We are very grateful for our volunteers who get stuck in, leading by example demonstrating safe tool use, and never afraid of getting muddy! They have helped us to teach the young citizens of Milton Keynes important skills relating to biodiversity and wildlife management such as how to build dead hedges, plant trees, and clear ponds as well as team building and specialist skills such as bushcraft, beekeeping, whittling and making water filters.
These volunteers have built up a great rapport with our participants and can often be found deep in discussion about a specific flora or fauna that the group has discovered or sharing their own experiences about why they enjoy volunteering and how this has benefitted them. This is great for our Youth Explorers and Youth Rangers to understand as although many of them get involved in our youth activities simply because they have a passion for the environment and enjoy being outdoors, for some it has provided a talking point for job, college and university interviews. Having our wonderful volunteers to help us deliver these sessions means that we can allow more children to join our youth groups and enjoy the experience of loving learning in the outdoors across our parks.
Thank you to our volunteers for all you do across Milton Keynes' parks! Find out more about our volunteering programme.
Youth Rangers is a free volunteering opportunity for people aged 14-17 interested in gaining hands-on skills and experience in environmental work.
A five-week nature course for 11-14 year olds. The sessions take place at Howe Park Wood and cover wildlife ID, bushcraft and conservation.