Looking for a team day to help with team working? Why not help wildlife & animal charities?

If your organisation or company is looking to hold an away day or to do a team building activity, then why not really do something meaningful for the day?

Give your team the chance to enjoy the feel-good factor that comes through volunteering & making a difference, & let them get out into the fresh air and enjoy an outdoors team building day in a different environment.

Team building events are often considered an extravagance and secretly dreaded by many staff, but here's an opportunity to bring people together and volunteer for conservation and animals. Helping a charity can give the company and charity good PR and could even lead to further opportunities for the two to work together.

The good thing about team days spent helping wildlife charities is that your team may not actually have any contact with animals - which may please some of your team.

There are a number of charities which organise team buildling activities or away days, and here are a few. You could also contact local animal charities & wildlife conservation groups to find out if there is anything your company could do to lend a paw. Please note that we don't organise these ourselves - we just wanted to give you an idea of the good your company could do to help your team building efforts

National	The RSPB Clearing nettles, enriching the biodiveristy in meadows, preserving nature & wildlife, bashing bracken, chopping down non-native seedlings - the RSPB has corporate volunteering opportunities. Fresh air, team work, the boss up to their knees in mud - this is a great chance for your company to do its bit for nature & wildlife. Find out more
London Cambs, Herts	Wood Green Animal Shelter This charity's vision is that all pets are well cared for in loving homes for life. There is not a lot of information on their site, but it does say that Corporate Membership benefits include staff volunteering/development days. Wood Green has centres in Cambridgeshire, London and Hertforshire. Click here for more info
London	Mayhew Animal Home. Activities may include the chance to enrich the lives of the residents, help with preparations for a fund-raising event or lend a hand with grounds & home maintenance. Teams can handle the animals at the end of the day, so that the animals have a chance to say thank you in person!
London	Surrey Docks Farm This city farm has projects which need manpower & a bit of money - there are always things which need doing on a farm. More info
London	Hackney City Farm - head to Hackney, where the tasks to be done may include planting, building fences, spreading woodchip, and other activities. They also offer specific activities designed to improve teamwork, awareness, and thinking in systems. Bring out your teams' corporate or competitive natures, depending on the day! Find out more here
Guernsey	The GSPCA. The Guernsey Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals can offer a day of organised activities which will help benefit the charity, the animals in its care & give your team the chance to make a difference. Tasks may include ground work, animal care & admin - click here for info
Hampshire	Hawk Conservancy Trust The Trust is a conservation charity and award winning visitor centre. It works in the fields of conservation, education, rehabilitation and the research of birds of preyhas & it has over 40 years' experience in providing corporate entertainment. Corporate events can range from basic bird handling sessions (your guests can handle and fly raptors including owls, hawks, vultures and eagles) or combined events where training sessions in their meeting rooms can be incorporated into the day. Challenges & competitions with a bird or conservation theme can also be enjoyed. Many companies organise ‘working days’, where staff help with activities such as painting the Trust's buildings, refurbishing aviaries for our birds, improving the planted areas or generally lending a hand to upgrade facilities for visitors. Click here for more info
Surrey	Surrey Wildlife Trust Get active with the Surrey Wildlife Trust for a day. Team tasks are dictated by the season's needs, but may include tree planting, fabricating and installing steps, fences, disabled paths or pond dipping platforms, invasive scrub clearance (young birch and bracken), building bonfires or ragwort pulling. Click here for more info
National	National Trust The National Trust Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) is for business and public sector employers wishing to make a difference either as individuals or in teams. For more details, contact [email protected] or you could find the National Trust place nearest to you and see if they have any details on their webpage about employee volunteering
UK	Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Employees can help with habitat management work such as creating nature areas, digging ponds and planting trees, so making a positive difference to the conservation of amphibians, reptiles and other biodiversity. Find out more here .
UK	Wildlife Trust The 46 Wildlife Trusts in the UK are dedicated to protecting wildlife and wild places at land and sea. They work with almost 2,000 businesses across the UK - the way each Trust works with business depends on local needs. But they all give businesses the chance to contribute to the protection & restoration of the environment in their local areas, often through employee volunteering & team buildling opportunities. Click here to find your local Wildlife Trust to see how you can work together.
UK	Wildfowl and Wetands Trust The WWT conserves wetlands for wildlife and people. Amphibians, freshwater reptiles & mammals all depend on wetlands - they support more species than most people would expect, and they provide society with many benefits. The WWT has a Corporate Volunteering scheme - to find out more, choose a WWT centre and look at their volunteering page for details. There are 9 centres, in West Sussex, London, Carmarthenshire, County Down, Dumfriesshire, Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Tyne & Wear & Norfolk