Volunteer

Did you know that 2005 is the Year of the Volunteer? Each month has a different theme and this month (May) the theme is The Environment.

Volunteering gives you the chance to do something - unpaid, of course - for your local community and environment. You could get some exercise in the green gym we call the countryside by doing some hard labour, or help record wildlife in a certain area. Whatever you do though, you'll almost certainly learn something along the way.

There are a number of organisations in Britain that coordinate voluntary activities. These include the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, Volunteering England, Volunteer Centre Network Scotland, Volunteering Wales and many others. A quick dig using your favourite search engine will bring up loads of tools to help you find volunteering opportunities in your local area.

Certain charities also organise their own volunteer schemes, for example Sustrans relies on volunteers for much of its work producing safe cycle routes around the country.

You don't have to give up the day job to become a volunteer. Any time you offer will be valuable, whether it's just a one-off stint, a week long residency or a couple of hours every week. And you'll feel a lot better about yourself too, knowing that you've really done something to help.

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