As we reflect on 2025, we want to shine a spotlight on the scale of their contribution and, more importantly, the people behind the numbers.

A phenomenal gift of time

Between January and November 2025, volunteers gave an incredible 43,531 hours of their time to Essex Wildlife Trust. That’s the equivalent of 132 volunteer hours every single day, or almost 1,000 hours every week.

Across the Trust, an average of 290 volunteering sessions take place each week, showing just how embedded volunteering is in our work. With 249 different volunteering opportunities available this year, volunteers supported everything from habitat management and species monitoring to gardening, administration, fundraising, membership support and project work. Whatever their background or interests, our volunteers prove there’s a place for everyone in helping to make Essex wilder.

A warm welcome at Head Office

Our fantastic reception volunteers play a vital role behind the scenes. Often the first point of contact for the public, they respond to an average of 143 emails every week, ensuring enquiries are answered promptly and directed to the right teams.

Alongside this, they take phone calls, handle deliveries, liaise with visitors and support a wide range of admin tasks. Their friendly faces and calm efficiency help keep things running smoothly at Head Office – and provide a warm welcome to everyone who walks through the door.

Powering our Nature Discovery Centres

Our Nature Discovery Centre volunteers are true champions of hospitality and community engagement. So far this year, they’ve helped serve an impressive 80,000 cups of tea, 235,000 coffees, and 75,000 slices of cake and traybakes. 

Thanks to their dedication, our centres have welcomed over 1,030,000 visitors in 2025 alone. Whether it’s pouring a cuppa, sharing knowledge about local wildlife or simply creating a welcoming space to relax and reconnect with nature, our volunteers are at the heart of the visitor experience.

Inspiring the next generation through Wilder Learning

Our Wilder Learning volunteers play a crucial role in helping people of all ages connect with the natural world. In 2025, volunteers helped the Trust engage with 8,387 children, supported 8,014 event engagements, and worked with 1,395 teachers and parents through school visits.

They also helped deliver 5,184 Forest School interactions, alongside family events, toddler groups, home education sessions, adult learning opportunities and school holiday activities. Their enthusiasm, patience and passion for nature help spark curiosity and inspire a lifelong love of the outdoors.

Monitoring wildlife across Essex

Surveying volunteers once again made an invaluable contribution to understanding wildlife across our reserves. During 2025, volunteers helped record an astonishing 139,711 flowering orchids across 25 Essex Wildlife Trust nature reserves, from Gunners Park and Thameside Nature Discovery Park in the south to Iron Latch and Shadwell Wood in the north.

A total of 14 orchid species were recorded, plus a southern marsh-orchid hybrid. Highlights included rare species such as greater butterfly-orchid, green-flowered helleborine and bird’s-nest orchid, with Oxley Meadow nature reserve and Langdon Nature Discovery Park recording particularly high numbers. These detailed surveys are essential for guiding conservation management and simply wouldn’t be possible without volunteer support.

Thank you

Our volunteers make nature recovery possible in Essex, and we are endlessly grateful for their dedication, generosity and passion. To everyone who volunteered with Essex Wildlife Trust in 2025, thank you. We truly couldn’t do this without you!

Learn about volunteering here