Volun-tees

Tees Valley Wildlife Trust

We protect the wildlife where you live. We make our county a better place for local wildlife and people. We all know that wild places are under daily threat, as our towns develop and our countryside changes. Despite our successes, wildlife is still being lost at an alarming rate.

ABOUT US:

The Trust has worked for more than 40 years to protect wildlife and wild places, and educate, influence and empower people. We are led by a voluntary Council of Management with day-to-day management and activity being delivered by a staff team.

Volunteers make a valuable contribution to delivery through varied practical and administrative activities, including but not limited to practical conservation, surveying and monitoring, and workshop maintenance.

WHY OUR WORK MATTERS:

We manage 15 Nature Reserves and help others to manage their countryside sites too. Our work not only helps secure the future of many important habitats and species, which might otherwise be lost, but also enables communities and individuals to make positive changes for nature.

OUR VALUES:

The focus of all our efforts is the conservation of the natural environment in the Tees Valley

Wildlife and natural places make a vital contribution to the quality of people’s lives

It is important for us to be inclusive and accessible. As a charity we work for public benefit. We believe in equal opportunities

We value our independence and the ability this gives us to campaign strongly where necessary on the issues that matter

We will only achieve our mission by cooperating with others and by working in partnership with a wide range of other organisations and individuals

We try at all times to be open and honest with good governance and full legal and regulatory compliance

Our objectives and actions are based as much as possible on sound science

We are reliable, consistent, and here for the long term

We achieve practical outcomes, on the ground with the local community. We can do strategy and policy too, but leading by example is important to us

We deliver our objectives through project funding as much as possible, because this means we can do much more than we could through membership fees alone

WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN OUR PEOPLE:

Our dedicated volunteer team act as representatives of not only Tees Valley Wildlife, but as representatives for the Wildlife Trusts as a whole. As such we value volunteers who share our passion for inspiring people about the natural world, and who are enthusiastic, polite and helpful wherever possible.

HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT:

We work with local communities to improve the area’s natural environment and protect its wildlife. We achieve this by working with local authorities, businesses and others to protect, manage and enhance the natural environment of the Tees Valley.

his includes strategic planning for the natural environment through a Tees Valley Nature Partnership, but the Trust also works through the planning process to help guide development and ensure the area’s best ecological assets are protected.

We promote lifelong learning in environmental matters through a programme of education and training. This includes education work with pupils in classroom activities, in creating wildlife and growing areas in school grounds and in supporting school visits to nature reserves and the Margrove Heritage Centre.

We also manage nature reserves to safeguard areas for wildlife and to provide places for education and the enjoyment of nature. The Trust owns and manages over 500 acres of land as nature reserves and has carried out works to many other areas of former industrial and under-used land to enhance its value for wildlife and for the benefit of local people.

Every year the Trust delivers a variety of projects to address particular local environmental needs. These range from activities relating to bats to a research project on the benefits of the natural environment on people’s mental health.