Chase Away Winter Blues With Outdoor Opportunities

Winter's shorter days can feel a bit slow and gloomy but it’s also a perfect time to give something back by taking advantage of simple, one-off ways to volunteer that make the dark days brighter.

It’s a time of year when many people feel acutely alone and devoting time to help a local project can help provide company as well as stimulation and a sense of fulfilment.

Tree planting is one of the best winter activities, and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is running community planting days in places like Bemerton Heath, in Salisbury, Langford Lakes and Trowbridge.

Volunteers don’t need any experience – their staff provide tools, guidance and plenty of encouragement. The National Trust is also looking for volunteers at Lacock and Stourhead to help plant saplings and maintain young woodland through the colder months.

For shorter sessions, the run-up to Christmas is full of possibilities. Devizes and District Foodbank, Salisbury Foodbank and the Swindon Food Collective all need helpers to sort donations and assemble emergency parcels as demand rises. Many also run supermarket collections in December, where volunteers spend an hour or two handing out lists and collecting items.

Wiltshire’s Christmas lunch clubs are often looking for friendly faces. Groups such as Christmas Care Swindon, Devizes Opendoor and local church hall events in towns like Warminster and Marlborough need volunteers to serve meals, prepare tables or spend time chatting with guests who might otherwise be on their own.

For something more festive, The Salvation Army in Salisbury and Chippenham run toy-sorting sessions for their Christmas Present Appeal. Volunteers help organise and wrap gifts before they’re delivered to families who need a hand at this time of year.

Winter Warmers events, carol services and late-night shopping evenings in towns including Corsham, Melksham and Amesbury often look for volunteer stewards to greet people, hand out programmes or help keep things running smoothly.

Winter volunteering doesn’t have to be a long-term commitment. It can be a morning planting trees, an hour at a foodbank or an afternoon serving lunch. But each small act can help us feel warmer, kinder and more connected through the coldest months of the year.

WCA’s free community portal, Wiltshire Together, has a listing of volunteering opportunities across Wiltshire all year round. Sign up and search local opportunities at wiltshiretogether.org.uk.

WCA works with charities and groups to help them support their volunteer training and development, and help them develop links with the community. To find out more, contact Volunteer and Community Development Advisor Stacey Sims at community@wessexcommunityaction.org.uk.

Pictured: National Trust volunteers tree planting, there are opportunities all over Wiltshire

Press release issued by Meadow Communications on behalf of Wessex Community Action.

For further details contact Gary Lawrence of Meadow Communications on 07866 422308 or gary@meadowcomms.co.uk.