Get Stuck In volunteering with the BMC
GET STUCK IN
Get Stuck In events are 1-3 day opportunities for BMC volunteers to give some love back to the landscapes we love to walk and climb in. There are a range of activities decided on nearer the time of the event according to the National Trust rangers who will be teaching you new skills, explaining more about their footpath repair and conservation activities and working alongside you.
There's a very friendly, supportive atmosphere to these events and we welcome volunteers from all backgrounds, faiths and ability levels. As a new volunteer you will be teamed up with more experienced volunteers and rangers to carry out the path repair and/or conservation work.
Why path repair?
Path repair work is massively important to our continued access and enjoyment of wild spaces and it's the reason the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust (ACT) set up the Mend Our Mountains campaign. We have access to 140,000 miles of footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales but - they're eroding fast due to increased footfall and more extreme weather conditions. Path repair work on a Get Stuck In event can be as physically challenging as you want to make it, with volunteers digging drainage ditches, moving stepping stones into place, making steps, re-shaping eroded peat hags, landscaping paths and scattering cairns.
Why conservation work?
Many of our precious moorland areas are now being colonised by Molinia grass and Rhododendrons. Although attractive to look at, rhododendrons are an invasive species, which outcompete all native plants, so nothing grows underneath, reducing biodiversity. With heavy rain the bare peat underneath washes away, adding to erosion, reducing quality of drinking water and increasing flood risk. We want to keep the peat on the hill where it stores huge amounts of carbon.
The conservation work involves clearing invasive, biodiversity-reducing species like Molinia grass and rhododendron, collecting plastic tree-guards, clearing bracken to allow newly-planted tree saplings to thrive, and finally, planting carbon-sinking sphagnum moss plugs into soft peat bog with Moors for the Future.
When and where?
Currently, Get Stuck In volunteering events take place in the Peak District, Lake District and Wales, scroll down for event listings. Basic accommodation, in club huts and bunkhouses with cooking facilities, showers and toilets, is provided on the 2-3 day events. You can also borrow steel toe-capped boots and heavy duty waterproof jackets and trousers free of charge if needed.
Can't volunteer?
Get Stuck In also relies on donations to the funding charity, the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust, so if you can't come along on a volunteer project, please do consider making a financial contribution to path repair and upland conservation instead through Mend Our Mountains or The Climate Project.
Get Stuck In Volunteering Opportunities
The Climate Project Events
BMC Volunteers will be joining National Trust Rangers planting trees in the North York Moors National Park. This is part of a plan to increase tree cover of the National Park up to 25%. Benefits of tree planting include: carbon capture, improved soils, reducing erosion, water logging and flood risk downstream, increased bioversity of birds, mammals, insects and plants, shelter for livestock, and beneficial effect on the landscape. Planting trees will benefit nature, reduce flood risk, and help fight climate change.
The Climate Project Events
In association with Moors for the Future Partnership, BMC volunteers will be planting sphagnum moss in the Goyt Valley area of the Peak District, close to Buxton. Sphagnum moss is a key building block of peat and healthy blanket bog keeps the underlying peat banks safe. Sphagnum traps carbon dioxide and due to its water retention properties it also helps reduce flooding and improves water quality. Therefore protection and restoration of blanket bog is an important part of the fight against climate change.
The Climate Project Events
In association with Moors for the Future Partnership, BMC volunteers will be planting sphagnum moss in the Goyt Valley area of the Peak District, close to Buxton. Sphagnum moss is a key building block of peat and healthy blanket bog keeps the underlying peat banks safe. Sphagnum traps carbon dioxide and due to its water retention properties it also helps reduce flooding and improves water quality. Therefore protection and restoration of blanket bog is an important part of the fight against climate change.
The Climate Project Events
BMC members are invited to join a Crag Clean up, hosted by BMC South West Area volunteers, with local BMC volunteer Nigel Barry.
Mend Our Mountains Footpath Volunteer Days
Conservation Events
Many BMC members will enjoy using Eryri (Snowdonia National Park) for hill walking and climbing. In association with the National Trust, the BMC are arranging conservation projects in the mountains of Eryri. Works may involve path maintenance, drainage projects, stepping stones, vegetation clearance or cairn scattering, led by the local National Trust Rangers. There will be 4 projects in Eryri in 2025. The second project is being held on Wednesday 18th to Friday 20th June 2025.
Conservation Events
Many BMC members will enjoy using Eryri (Snowdonia National Park) for hill walking and climbing. In association with the National Trust, the BMC are arranging conservation projects in the mountains of Eryri. Works may involve path maintenance, drainage projects, stepping stones, vegetation clearance or cairn scattering, led by the local National Trust Rangers. There will be 4 projects in Eryri in 2025. The first project is being held on Monday 28th to Wednesday 30th April 2025.
Conservation Events
Many BMC members will enjoy using Eryri (Snowdonia National Park) for hill walking and climbing. In association with the National Trust, the BMC are arranging conservation projects in the mountains of Eryri. Works may involve path maintenance, drainage projects, stepping stones, vegetation clearance or cairn scattering, led by the local National Trust Rangers. There will be 4 projects in Eryri in 2025. The third project is being held on Wednesday 20th to Friday 22nd August 2025.
Conservation Events
Many BMC members will enjoy using Eryri (Snowdonia National Park) for hill walking and climbing. In association with the National Trust, the BMC are arranging conservation projects in the mountains of Eryri. Works may involve path maintenance, drainage projects, stepping stones, vegetation clearance or cairn scattering, led by the local National Trust Rangers. There will be 4 projects in Eryri in 2025. The final project is being held on Monday 15th to Wednesday 17th September 2024.
What's it like to volunteer?
Get Stuck In Volunteer Day Reports
Mend Our Mountains Articles
500 birch trees have been planted by BMC volunteers at Bransdale in the North York Moors. Walk these 6 nearby trails to appreciate the beauty of this remote corner of wilderness, south of the popular peak Roseberry Topping.
Hill Walking News
Will you help the BMC repair footpaths and avoid carbon loss in 2025 as part of Mend Our Mountains and The Climate Project?
Access Articles
This unassuming, bright, green or red moss with lush, almost tentacle-like fronds is hiding five well-kept secrets.
Mend Our Mountains Articles
Did you know that the 140,000 miles of footpaths and bridleways we have access to in England and Wales are under serious threat? The footpaths you love the walk on are disappearing fast before our eyes due to erosion from increased footfall and more extreme weather conditions. Here are 14 reasons why we can't ignore footpath erosion.
Further volunteering opportunities with the BMC
We also need volunteers to be Area Reps, Hill Walking Reps and help out at indoor climbing competitions. Check out the full list of volunteer opportunities across the BMC at the link below.