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Volunteering at Durlston  

Volunteers are essential to making Durlston a very special place and we’d love your help!  

Volunteering with us is a great way to meet new friends, keep active, learn skills and work in a beautiful location. More than 150 volunteers work alongside the Rangers and whatever your skills or interests, we would love to hear from you.

For more information please get in touch by email durlston@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk or call the Rangers on 01929 424443.
 

Weekly Work Parties

Our Volunteer Work Parties are a great way to start practical volunteering. Meet new people, learn a skill and enjoy the wonderful scenery and wildlife of Durlston, while helping protect it.

Tasks are available for all ages and abilities, with equipment and training provided. Just come along to the Learning Centre for a 10am start. We have a break at 11.30 and the session ends at 1pm. Tea, coffee and occasional cake provided!

Tuesdays: Pleasure Grounds Project: Enhance the heritage, accessibility, and habitats throughout the Victorian landscape of the park.

Wednesdays: Reserve Conservation: Help care for our stunning National Nature Reserve. Habitat management, scrub cutting, path clearing, hedge-laying, fencing, and more!

Thursdays: Dry-stone Walling: Volunteers help maintain over six miles of dry-stone wall across the Country Park. We welcome new walling volunteers to get started with a training session held once per month. Please email durlston@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk for details. 

Events Volunteering

Durlston hosts over 200 events a year,  from live music, to guided walks or children’s activities, art workshops, green woodworking or art exhibitions.

A team of volunteers help us organise them, promote them, steward exhibitions or make them happen! Do contact us if you’d like to help!

Indoor Volunteering   

Volunteers help with planning events, publicising what we do, designing interpretation, collating or analysing data and more.

We have regular volunteers who come in once or twice a week to help, those who help from home, volunteers who work on a range of things or have a specific task they give their time for.  Please get in touch and we can discuss what jobs we need help with.

 

Castle Volunteering

Working at the Castle visitor centre is a great way to meet people, spend time in a beautiful location, and share your enthusiasm for Durlston, working alongside a Ranger for a morning or an afternoon (or a full day if you’re very keen).

This role involves greeting visitors, providing information, answering questions and taking money from shop sales. Training is given and a Ranger is always available to help out. Hours are flexible to suit you.

 

Conservation Volunteering

We have an incredible team of volunteers who help out every week with a wide variety of tasks. Some come every week, some once or twice a month, some can maybe help us out for a few hours, and others love to take on projects themselves. Whatever you want to do you are more than welcome to come and help us keep Durlston beautiful.

Surveys

Surveys run throughout the year and include, visitor, marine, dolphin, seasonal bird, butterfly, and wildflower surveys. No experience is needed for many surveys as we offer training.

If there is something you have special knowledge of and would like to initiate or take part in surveys then please get in touch.

Work Experience

If you are at school or college and are looking for a work placement, Durlston can offer a wide range of experiences. 

Please get in touch to find out more, or to apply visit Apprenticeships and work experience - Dorset Council

Volunteer talking to visitor in the Castle

Roaming Rangers

This is an informal public engagement role which aims to provide support to the ranger team and improve visitor experience. It involves roaming the park and chatting to people, sharing points of interest, and helping to point visitors in the right direction where needed.

Your role as a roaming ranger will be dependent on your own personal interests. Where you go and what you do, is up to you - some roaming rangers might prefer to take a pair of secateurs or a litter picker with them, whilst others might just go for a walk looking out for wildlife. 

This role is a great excuse to get out and about exploring our National Nature Reserve (and volunteers park for free whilst on duty). You will develop close links to the ranger team and an insight into everything going on at the park.

Get in touch to organise an induction with us. We don’t require you to have any prior knowledge of the park before you start, just be friendly and appraochable!

Everyone Needs a Shed!

Everyone is welcome at the Shed, whether you want to teach, learn or even just enjoy the company.
We have tasks to suit people of all ages and abilities, from growing plants and vegetables, to traditional rural crafts such as willow weaving, making toys, and much more. The Shed welcomes those with disabilities, dementia or long-term health problems to join in and enjoy the park. 

Check out the 'Shed' page for details

Volunteers walking along path near the sea

Corporate Volunteering Days

We welcome companies offering corporate volunteering days to work with us for free here at our National Nature Reserve in Dorset.

Large groups offer us the opportunity to take on large outdoor conservation jobs which might otherwise take our small ranger team a long time to complete.

Tasks very throughout the year, and will be dependent on the group size and the needs of the park at the time.

In the autumn/winter this is likely to include scrub cutting, raking and burning on the coastal downland. In spring/summer, anything from orchid surveys, to path maintenance along our trails; such as sweeping paths, wood-chipping, or pruning plantings.

All volunteering at Durlston is FREE, but we welcome donations, such as tools, to support our conservation work. 

Please get in touch with us to discuss - durlston@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk