Volunteer opportunities at Clumber Park

A volunteer gardener picking rhubarb in the garden at Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire. — A volunteer gardener picking rhubarb in the garden at Clumber Park | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

Volunteers help to make Clumber Park a beautiful place to visit and provide crucial support to every team across the park. You can join our dedicated, regular volunteers in a variety of roles to share your skills, learn something new and work with a great team.

Who can volunteer at Clumber Park?

Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds, with different skills and talents.

Full training and support is given so you can succeed in all our roles, but there are also opportunities for you to use, and share, your existing skills with others.

There is no such thing as ‘typical volunteer’ and everyone is welcome to join us in running and caring for the park.

Why join us?

There are lots of reasons to join us; making the move to volunteer could be the best decision you ever make.

Become part of a friendly and dedicated team
Meet people from all walks of life and forge new friendships
Utilise your existing skills and learn new ones
Strengthen your CV and help to develop your career
Enjoy the great outdoors
Learn about the history of this special place.

How to apply to become a volunteer

If you'd like to volunteer with us, you must make an application to an open role via our online portal. The relevant team will then be in touch with details on interview and taster day opportunities.

To view all volunteer opportunities, please click here and type 'Clumber Park' into the search bar.

If you wish to volunteer in a particular area or team but cannot see a role advertised it means that the team is currently fully staffed and is not accepting applications at this time. Please revisit regularly to keep up to date with what opportunities are available.

Work experience at Clumber Park

Our work experience offering is currently being developed.

Enquiries from training providers and career officers are welcome.

Volunteer pruning an espaliered fruit tree in the Walled Garden during a working holiday at Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire — Volunteer pruning an espaliered fruit tree in the Walled Garden during a working holiday at Clumber Park | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

Work placement case study

Nottingham Trent university Ecology and Conservation student Lucy took a year- long work placement with Clumber Park’s ranger team starting in October 2020 learning about the day-to-day life of a conservation ranger at the National Trust.

The placement covered different parts of ranger life including practical habitat management of woodland and heathland, habitat creation through the tenant farmer’s countryside stewardship scheme and fencing and gate repairs.

‘Volunteering with the National Trust has enabled me to not only gain experience of the sector, but also make connections and friendships on the way,’ says Lucy. ‘I now understand what it takes to work for a nature conservation charity and the value of teams working together towards a common goal. As a young person, this volunteering experience is invaluable for a step into the industry and lets employers know you are willing to gain/work on transferable skills; both practical and people based to carry on through to future job aspirations.

Over the past eight months I have been supported by the ranger, leadership, programming and volunteer teams to help me work towards my own personal projects and get involved in practical tasks. The level of support has been fantastic, especially being a young person just starting off in the sector. It has benefitted my confidence.

I would highly recommend volunteering to other young people. The skills and confidence it can help you gain are valuable both in personal and professional aspects of life. Whether it is linked to future career aspirations or just for fun, it is well worth giving it a shot.’

Corporate volunteering

As part of employer-supported volunteering (ESV), staff can come an enjoy days of conservation tasks to support our work and enjoy team building.

By donating your time and skills, you can help us get even more conservation work done. In as little as an afternoon, groups help us tackle jobs which would otherwise take our rangers and property teams days or even weeks to complete. You could be getting your hands dirty in the gardens and heathlands of our countryside, working with our collections staff to conserve the treasures of history or working with our ranger team to help monitor or support habitats for wildlife.

There’s a whole host of things we need help with to look after special places for future generations to enjoy. If you're looking for time out of the office, or a break from home working, whilst making a real difference, please contact us.