Volunteer Gardener - Newport Animal Centre (RSPCA)

Are you a keen gardener? Could you help us keep our Animal Centre grounds neat and tidy?

We're looking for volunteers who can help us with tasks such as weeding, pruning and general maintenance of garden areas and borders. You will also be helping with any new projects such as wildlife garden areas or play areas for children and preparing the grounds for open days and other events. You may also help with lawn mowing and strimming, keeping our grassy areas looking presentable.

Why we want you

We are the RSPCA and it's our vision to live in a world where all animals are respected and treated with compassion. Our volunteers are incredible, they play an essential role in helping us carry out our important animal welfare work every day. Our Volunteer Gardeners play an important role in keeping our Animal Centre grounds looking spick and span. Freeing up time for our staff focus on looking after the animals in our care.

What you will be doing

• Assisting with a wide range of exterior maintenance tasks including
• Lawn mowing and strimming
• Weeding, pruning and general maintenance of garden areas and borders
• Helping with any new projects such as wildlife garden areas or play areas for children
• Preparing the grounds for open days and other events

The skills you need

• Volunteers must be aged 18 or over
• Willingness to pitch in, help out, and get your hands dirty
• Experience in a relevant trade is desirable but not essential as full training will be given
• Some heavy lifting will be involved but full H&S training will be given
• Enjoy gardening and being outdoors

What's in it for you

• Meet new people and make new friends
• Learn great new skills to add to your CV
• A great induction and training relevant to your role
• Volunteer in a fun environment at the heart of the local community
• You’ll be making a huge difference to the welfare of animals
• We are happy to reimburse any reasonable travel expenses you may incur whilst volunteering with us

Disclaimer

Please ensure that you have asked your referees’ permission to provide their contact details and for us to contact them. Our voluntary roles are subject to an informal interview and introductory period. Before you can start volunteering you’ll need to complete our simple online Health & Safety assessment. Tetanus is a life threatening bacterial disease caused by an infection in an open wound. In view of this everyone should be vaccinated to prevent infection and we require that all RSPCA staff and volunteers must be suitably protected. Tetanus vaccination is carried out in infancy (3 doses), at pre-school and in adolescence so everyone should have had 5 doses by the time adulthood is reached. This is considered to give lifelong protection although a booster might be considered if an injury is deemed to be high risk. We request that volunteers must check their vaccination history with their GP’s and if fully immunised no further action is required. If a volunteer has not had the required doses, the GP should offer them free of charge as part of the UK vaccination schedule.