Volunteering in Parks

TrainingVolunteering DatabasePark Group Pledge

See also: Volunteering in Parks on BCC website >>

Volunteering in Parks

Many park groups run work sessions in parks, please contact your local group

Anyone supporting parks by volunteering must ensure their actions complement the site management plans (if in place) and adhere to Park Byelaws.

Group activities require a trained leader who will complete the necessary paper work in order to be covered by the Council’s insurance.

Friends groups can also plan small scale events (e.g. simple community picnic, guided walk) under the same health and safety scheme used for work sessions.

Individual Volunteering

The individual volunteering protocol below is designed to support individuals to undertake volunteering activities such as litter picking, weeding, pruning, and species monitoring/recording.

Individual Volunteering Protocol

Corporate Volunteering or Team Days

Your Park offer Team Days in parks across Bristol & Bath

Find out more on the Your Park website >>


BCC Guidance Sheets for Groups and Communities – New August 2023

Bristol City Council have produced ‘Quick Guides’ that provide an introduction on how to work with the Council to undertake activities and projects in Parks & Green Spaces with information on who to contact and links.

They cover the following subjects – Small scale projects; Community events; Street trees and Tree sponsorship; Large projects and Play facilities; Large scale tree planting; Community Asset Transfer (CAT).

Download BCC Quick Guides (pdf) >>

Health and Safety Training

Apply for Health & Safety Training >>

Courses Currently Available >>

Request online Training >>

Many Park Group members want to improve their park by carrying out tasks such as adding planting schemes or cutting back bramble or scrub to improve sites for wildlife.

Bristol Parks encourages these efforts but needs to ensure that they are carried out safely both for those taking part and for other park users. Bristol Parks will provide training to groups and once this has been undertaken volunteers carrying out agreed tasks will be covered by Bristol City Council’s insurance.

The training means that volunteers leading guided walks have insurance cover.

Training is for 5 to 8 people on each course and Bristol Parks will put on courses as required (including for specific groups in their own areas). If you would like to attend a course please use the link at the top of this page.

Online training is also available and can be requested at any time. We follow the online version up with an in-person site visit to sign off your training

The Health & Safety Pack and forms that you will use once you have add your training can be downloaded from the Council’s website here.


Volunteering Database

As part of Bristol Parks’ move toward being more volunteer positive and celebrating the efforts of volunteers, they have set up a volunteer database where groups and individuals can sign up to and record volunteer hours.

It is important that volunteering time spent working in parks is recorded, so that everyone can see the benefits that volunteers bring.

You can sign up here:

• Step 1 – Head to http://bttr.im/hkgin and fill in the application form

• Create an account with username (email address) and password

• Make sure you use the contact details you wish us to use when contacting you about volunteering

This will give you access to all the volunteer opportunities across Bristol Parks as they carefully relaunch after Covid, as well as giving you the flexibility to record any hours you put in outside of formal group sessions.

Download the Volunteering Database ‘How To’ Guide (pdf)


Group Pledge & Charter

Bristol City Council Parks Service recognises the positive value of ‘Park Groups’ to our parks and their users. This value is at its greatest when both parties are committed to a constructive, cooperative working relationship.

This pledge is to capture the positive intention of both parties and help ensure the management and development of parks & green spaces is supported by both parties in order to do the best for the local community. It is not intended as a legal document or contract.

Groups may wish to sign the ‘Pledge’ and may find it useful in that it gives a degree of official status and sets out what both they and Bristol parks Service can expect. There is no requirement for groups to sign.

Alongside the pledge there is a ‘Bristol Parks Volunteering Charter’ that sets out how the Parks Service works with volunteers.

Parks Group Pledge (Updated June 2020)

Bristol Parks Volunteering Charter (Updated June 2020)

Bristol City Council Volunteering Policy