Lend a hand for nature with the Big Help Out 2024

The Big Help Out was launched last year as part of the celebrations for the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla. It aims to raise awareness of volunteering throughout the UK and provide opportunities for people to experience volunteering and make a difference in their communities. This year the Big Help Out takes place Friday 7 - Saturday 9 June.

Jill Coward was a Big Help Out 2023 attendee and is now a weekly Rainham Hall Garden Volunteer. She says: “After finding an advert on The Big Help Out in 2023, I decided to visit Rainham Hall to find out about volunteering. I was blown away by its beauty, in Rainham (of all places). After The Big Help Out Day, I joined the volunteer team and now go regularly on a Wednesday to help in the gardens. Everyone there is so friendly and kind. It is a beautiful place to help you feel calm in our hectic world. I’m definitely glad I joined the team.”

The National Trust is a large volunteering organisation, with over tens of thousands of volunteers. Over the Big Help Out, Trust places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are offering visitors a chance to get involved with activities from wildlife surveys to beach cleans, and to understand the essential role volunteers play in preserving nature, beauty and history for everyone, for ever.

Hilary McGrady, Director-General of the National Trust, said: “Volunteers are the lifeblood of so many charities and the National Trust is no different. We were founded by volunteers in 1895, and 129 years on, volunteers continue to support so many aspects of our work – from helping care for historic gardens and amazing collections, to welcoming visitors through our doors.

“The Big Help Out is a brilliant opportunity for people to try out volunteering. National Trust places across the UK will be hosting all kinds of activities including litter picks and nature surveys, so please do get involved. Personally I'm looking forward to joining a beach clean at one of our beautiful coastal sites.

“We are hugely grateful to everyone who volunteers with us – thank you for all that you do.”

Events are taking place at: Arlington Court, Devon; Ham House, London; Sandlilands, Lincolnshire; Wray, Lake Distrct; Formby, Liverpool; Rainham Hall, London; Bossington, Somerset; Portstewart Strand, Northern Ireland; Killerton, Devon; Rhossilli Beach, Gower Peninsula; Erddig, Wrexham; Roundhouse, Birmingham; The Argory, Northern Ireland; and Peckover House & Gardens, Cambridgeshire.