Volunteering with Green & Away

We invite you to volunteer and participate in creating a unique and beautiful experience with us this summer. Green & Away is a registered educational charity, and we organise, build and run a unique, tented, sustainable venue – a temporary outdoor eco-village, situated on the banks of the River Teme, in lush countryside overlooked by the Malvern Hills in the West of England. We focus on creating meaningful volunteering experiences and events with social impact.

Every summer since 1990, our trustees (all volunteers) and many volunteers from all walks of life and all over the world have come together to create a space for events, connection to the outdoors, community and learning – and we invite you to join us!

Internships and Residencies

At Green & Away we offer structured internships. We also invite an artist and scientist to reside with us every summer. For more information and to apply please see Internships, and Artist in Residence pages.

What to expect when volunteering at Green & Away: 

We’re looking for people who like working hard, having fun, and being part of a community to get involved. At Green & Away we live in a comfortable outdoor venue, as a community of up to 30 volunteers working together to look after our temporary summer home, taking turns to cook, wash up and keep the site running alongside hosting events. The type of activities you will be involved in depends on which phase you join us for and may involve putting up large marquees, housekeeping of tents or catering for large events for example.

You will be supported and encouraged to be involved in whatever you feel most comfortable doing, and we always appreciate new ideas and feedback – Green & Away is a place to share and learn new skills. 

We warmly welcome and encourage individuals of all backgrounds, ethnicities, races, genders, abilities, ages, religions, and orientations to join us as volunteers.

Want to hear from previous volunteers? Check out our reviews on Worldpackers and HelpX.

The Green & Away Season:

We are a temporary venue reflected by the three main phases of our season. The most diverse range of activities and greatest need for volunteers are during the setup and takedown of the site, but of course we also rely on our team of volunteers for the running of the events! You can apply to volunteer with us for a minimum of a 2 week period and to arrive on a Monday so that you can get a full induction.

Setup Phase: 15 June – 2 July

Each year we build the venue from scratch. The tasks during setup are hard but very rewarding work as you will arrive at an empty field and have the satisfaction of watching and helping the tented village circle take form each day! Basic facilities such as kitchen, showers and toilets will be ready when you arrive.

Setup takes two weeks where we erect large tents such as the kitchen and bar marquee, set up and furnish the smaller accommodation tents for paying guests and put in place essential things like plumbing and electrics., and erect the cafe, sitting room yurt, and main marquee tent amongst others. Once the structures are built they are furnished with seating, equipment, decorations and many flowers and bunting as a finishing touch. 

Setup is a time of team spirit, learning diverse new skills from how the pulley system on a canvas marquee works, how to build a traditional yurt, how to do an alpine butterfly knot, install our infrastructure such as plumbing or solar powered electrics, and looking great in steel cap boots! If building structures and making spaces beautiful appeals to you, then setup may be what you are looking for! Please arrive on 15 June for an induction so we can start setting up on the 16th!

Events Phase: 3 July – 27 July

Throughout the season we welcome different groups for whom we provide the venue and support in the smooth running of their events. Tasks involve welcoming guests and helping them settle in, cooking meals and baking bread and cakes, washing up, running the bar and cafe, cleaning the showers and toilets, chopping wood, and preparing the site for the next group (washing bedding, making beds, looking after the site). 

Each event is different and no day is the same at Green & Away. By working together as a team we make even the washing up of over 200 plates a fun task, and you will have the opportunity of trying out different jobs and taking on new responsibilities and challenges! Between events, tasks turn to tidying up and working on different improvement projects which can vary over the years.

Takedown Phase: 28 July – 7 August

At the end of the season the entire site is deconstructed and packed away for the winter. Like setup, this involves a lot of manual labour and hard work but is a time when the team really comes together as we work to leave the field as we found it at the beginning of the summer. 

We make sure that all structures are cleaned, dried and packed away. You’ll have the chance to see the behind the scenes of outdoor living and event infrastructure and take part in plenty of problem solving and logistics tasks. While the work can be quite physical, we find that because we are not hosting events anymore we have more time for team activities such as fancy banquet dinners, dress-up parties or relaxing campfire evenings.

If it is something you want to have a go at, then takedown may be the phase for you!

Please note that as we take structures down the facilities on the field will become more minimal (toilets and showers will be available till the end). 

Working hours and time off at Green & Away

Each day is different at Green & Away but working days are about 8 hours long. During setup and takedown our working days usually begin at 9am with a short meeting and finish late afternoon. We have an hour lunch break and stop regularly for tea and cake breaks. During events, we work on a rota system. For example, some people will be up at 6am to prepare breakfast, whereas the bar workers usually finish late at night, so will start much later in the day too! 

You will get 2 days off a week. Days off are not the same each week and may not be consecutive as we need to balance the work needing to be done as well as making sure each member of the camp gets a rest.

The work at Green & Away is what brings us together, but there is also plenty of time for evening activities, revelling in music and laughter in our bar, swimming, playing games and enjoying an evening round the campfire. There is also opportunity for day trips to visit the local area, cultural visits or special days out like canoeing on your days off.

You are also invited to engage with our Education Wednesdays, where we spend an afternoon together learning from one another in a variety of ways through talks, workshops and discussions. If you have a skill or knowledge on a topic you would like to share with the group let us know!

Accommodation and facilities

We are an outdoor venue and campsite so all accommodation is tented – all volunteers as well as the paying guests sleep in tents. 

Green & Away will provide you with a space in a tent with a camp bed, sleeping bag, pillow and blanket. You may need to share a tent with other volunteers but we try to avoid this and this is for the large tents only. If possible you can bring your own tent and sleeping equipment as you may find you are more comfortable in your own. There are plenty of spaces to live and socialise on the camp and tents are mostly just used for sleeping.

All food is provided (3 meals a day and regular tea breaks with cake!). Meals are vegetarian/vegan, organic, fresh and local when possible. We make delicious, nutritious, and filling food that is prepared and eaten together as a community. Please note that vegetarian means that no meat and no fish is cooked in our kitchen and you cannot use our kitchen to prepare your own meals. Many of our meals are also vegan meaning there is no cheese or other animal products in them. 

We do our best to cater for allergies and dietary requirements. Please let us know when you apply so we can discuss the practicalities with you in advance.

The site has outdoor biomass-powered, wood-cladded shower cubicles, composting toilets, cold water taps for handwashing and drinking water, clothes washing facilities (max 30° Celsius) and a washing line for drying. We provide eco-friendly toiletries as all waste water goes back into the land.

Please note – the English summers are well known for being unpredictable and occasionally wet. The weather could be hot or cold. Although we always hope for a warm and dry season, please make sure you bring appropriate clothing and footwear for all weather. 

All safety and work equipment you will need is provided by us (such as safety boots).

INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING WITH US?

  1. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please send an email to volunteer@greenandaway.org and we will send you our application form. 
  2. We may reach out to you for a quick phone call, to establish your level of English and to give an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about Green & Away.
  3. You will receive an email letting you know whether your application was successful or not.
  4. Following a successful application you will receive further information from us, such as travel information and a guide on what to pack.

Note:

  • We are unable to provide support in Visa applications 
  • A good conversational level of English (at least CEFR B2) is necessary to safely and fully participate in our work – you should be comfortable having a conversation with the many people from across the world that come here and communicate with the guests at Green & Away. If English is not your first language, we will arrange for a short telephone conversation to establish your level of English. 
  • You need to be over 18 in order to volunteer with us at Green & Away.