Volunteering
The ancient Atlantic oak and hazel woodlands of Cormonachan Community Woodlands require regular maintenance so that locals and visitors can continue to enjoy the wonderful walks. Would you like to help to keep them in good order by joining us on a volunteer work day? Dates for upcoming work days and further details are given below. There are also many other ways that you can help to support these beautiful woodlands – see Other Ways to Volunteer below.
If you haven’t volunteered before, give it a GO! It’s actually very enjoyable and rewarding to make a difference…
Volunteers Days for 2026:-
| Date | Time | Leader (*) |
| Saturday 21/02/26 | 10 am to 3 pm | FW |
| Saturday 14/03/26 | CANCELLED | FW |
| Sunday 29/03/26 | 10 am to 3 pm | FW |
| Saturday 11/04/26 | 10 am to 3 pm | FW |
| Sunday 26/04/26 | 10 am to 3 pm | FW |
| Sunday 10/05/26 | 10 am to 3 pm | FW |
| Saturday 23/05/26 | 10 am to 3 pm | FW |
| Saturday 13/06/26 | 10 am to 3 pm | FW |
| Sunday 28/06/26 | 10 am to 3 pm | FW |
| * FW = Frances Walker; RH = Richard Hall; Dates for July – December will be added nearer the time | ||
If you can’t manage the full day, you are welcome to help for the morning or afternoon – all help is much appreciated…
What Does a Volunteer Day Involve?
Before each of the days we generally email volunteers a list of the priorities for the day. On the day, we meet at the CCW north or south car parks preferably 10 minutes before the start time. If the car park of the day is full, we will arrange parking just along the road at our other car park and provide a shuttle service… Please wear suitable clothing and footwear and bring a packed lunch and refreshments. We will supply tools, Hi-Vis jackets, gloves, helmets and visors, etc. if appropriate. First Aiders are always in attendance.
CCW volunteers may be joined by Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park volunteers and the Fife Conservation Volunteers.
We start with a safety briefing given by the Team Leaders of the day. A selection of tasks will then be made available with guidance. We stop work for a social half hour lunch break.
Tasks to be carried out on the day will be suitable to the weather!
Work to do in these ancient woodlands includes cutting down & burning invasive Rhododendron ponticum, removing self-seeded invasive plants, clearing already felled Sitka spruce trees & stacking and burning the brash, cutting down self-seeded Sitka spruce trees (felling can only be done by certificated volunteer members), slashing bracken, strimming, brush cutting, scything & mowing the paths, pruning branches alongside the paths, maintaining the ditches, planting native trees & keeping them free of scrub, cleaning & painting the Red Squirrel Hide & storage shed and the Contemplation Shelter, cleaning the picnic tables & benches, helping to make sculptures & maintaining them, keeping the Labyrinth in good order, topping up the squirrel feeders, erecting new signs, cleaning the information signs and anything else that may be needed to maintain the woodlands in good order.
The nearest public toilets are 2 miles away to the south just past Castle Carrick in Carrick Castle.
We try to have a good time volunteering and achieve good results in looking after the woodlands.
How to Volunteer
The CCW Volunteers Leader is Frances Walker, E-mail: Volunteers@cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk.
The minimum age for volunteering is 16. Currently our oldest volunteer is 81 years old. Children are welcome if accompanied by parents.
If you haven’t volunteered with us before, please contact Frances for a Volunteer Application Form.
You will also need to complete the Consent and Medical form (click on this link). You can either email this to us at Volunteers@cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk or bring the completed form to your first volunteer event.
Please let the leader for a specific Volunteer Day (Frances Walker, unless specified in the date list above) know in advance if you plan to attend that day, or if you need to cancel. This enables us to make appropriate plans, ensure tools are available, etc.
Would you be interested in becoming a Team Leader? – see CCW Team Leader Check List
Other Ways to Volunteer
Besides volunteering in the woodlands, you can help the Cormonachan Community Woodlands Ltd by volunteering in other ways:-
1) Volunteering to become an annual member – this helps pay for the running of the organisation.
2) Volunteering on the Board – helping run the company with its organisation & funding.
3) Volunteering to help raise funds – the company has no income stream other than annual membership.
4) Volunteering at events – helping to set up & take down our marquee and run the stand (Open Days/Gala Day/etc.)
More information on the above…
1) Volunteering to become an annual member
Q. Why is it important that the company has members?
A. The Cormonachan Community Woodlands is a not-for-profit organisation. It has no income stream, such as being able to sell timber commercially from the woodlands. The woodlands are community woodlands run for the preservation of the woodlands and maintenance of its paths for education and recreation. The company has to raise money to run the organisation. There are annual costs that have to be covered – third party insurance, insurance of its structures (Red Squirrel Hide, Shed & Contemplation Shelter), tools, equipment, website hosting, domain renewal costs, stationery, printing ink, non-fundable annual costs such as servicing equipment, petrol, oils & chains/cords for chainsaw and strimmers, incidentals, etc. All these costs are paid for by the membership’s annual subscriptions. It is therefore important to the company that members renew their membership annually to ensure the viability of the company’s future.
Membership Application Form (This form has to be completed to join Cormonachan Community Woodlands Ltd.)
2) Volunteering on the Committee
Q. How do I apply to become a Committee Member?
A. You need to have a passion to want to preserve Cormonachan Community Woodlands for Conservation, Education and Recreation. You volunteer your services advising the committee of your attributes and experiences. As the Board is made up of up to eight members (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Volunteers Leader and three other places), you would need to be co-opted/elected a place on the Board when a vacancy becomes available. All board members are re-elected or elected at the Annual General Meeting. Committee meetings would average around six meetings a year. Board members would be expected to attend and organise volunteer groups a few times each year. The Volunteers Leader’s position is shown on the Volunteers Leader Job Description. The Volunteers Leader is in charge of organising the Team Leaders – see CCW Team Leader Check List.
3) Volunteering to help raise funds
Q. How can we help to raise funds?
A. You can help with these items:-
1) Encourage your friends and neighbours to become members of the Association.
2) Donate small or larger amounts of money to Cormonachan Community Woodlands’s projects or general fund (the “Upper Cormonachan Paths Project Fund” is the current project).
Cheques or bank transfers are welcome or ‘Donate’ via PayPal on the Association’s website – https://cormonachan-woodlands-co-uk.stackstaging.com/news.html (bottom of page).
3) When buying anything on-line, check to see if that one (of 6,000 listed retailers) is offering a fund raising donation to Cormonachan Community Woodlands.
Go to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/panel/ as small amounts add up to big amounts if lots of members use the system.
4) The Board obtains funding for projects, maintenance, tools, equipment, structures, paths and training of member volunteers through a wide range of available community funds. Members with funding application experience are invited to contact the Company’s Secretary with any funding sources information they may have that would be beneficial to the organisation.
4) Volunteering at events
Q. Why does the Company have Open Days and attend other events, such as Gala Days locally?
A. Members of the local community need to be informed about the historic and modern-day value of Cormonachan Community Woodlands which are classified as ‘Ancient Semi Natural Woodlands’. These 63.9 hectares of ancient Atlantic oak and hazel woodlands with their paths have to be maintained for conservation, education and recreation on behalf of the local community. Walking in Cormonachan Community Woodlands around the 1 km Squirrel Trail or 2.5 km circular paths is excellent for people’s health and walking dogs is welcome. These are lovely walks to do all year round, however, in order to keep them in good order, the Company needs volunteers for the maintenance of the paths. Open Days and Gala Days help to promote the Company’s work and gain new members and also raise funds for projects.
Your volunteering will help to maintain these ancient Atlantic oak and hazel woodlands and keep the paths in good order for locals and visitors to enjoy these wonderful walks. Below is the compartment map showing the various work areas.
Further Information
Would you be interested in becoming a Team Leader? – see CCW Team Leader Check List