The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) is a British charity that connects people to green spaces through

volunteering Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

, focused on environmental conservation through practical tasks undertaken by volunteers. Until 1 May 2012, it traded as BTCV – British Trust for Conservation Volunteers).

History

The Conservation Corps

In 1959 the (then) Council for Nature appointed Brigadier Armstrong to form the Conservation Corps, with the objective of involving young volunteers, over the age of 16, in practical conservation work. The corp's first project was at Box Hill, Surrey, where 42 volunteers cleared dogwood to encourage the growth of

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

and distinctive

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

. One of the volunteers present was

David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English academic, botanist, television presenter, author and prominent environmental campaigner in the UK and globally. His distinctive, energetic style of presenting became wel ...

, who went on to become a Vice President of BTCV. By 1964 the Conservation Corps had expanded its activities to include education and amenity work in the countryside. In 1966 it moved from a basement office at Queens Gate,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, to new premises at

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

. In 1968 the first training course for volunteers was held. By 1969 membership had increased to 600, and volunteers completed around 6,000 workdays a year. The first ever international exchange visit to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

that year became the forerunner for the International Project Programme of today.

The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers

In 1970 the Conservation Corps started to operate under the new name of British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), with

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

as Patron and Sir David Attenborough as Vice President. In 1971 the local group affiliation scheme was launched. * In 1975 the BTCV Membership scheme was started * In 1984 BTCV moved its headquarters to Wallingford, Oxfordshire, while the former BTCV

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

region was established as a separate charity, registered in Scotland and headquartered at Balallan House,

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

. Operating under the new name of The Scottish Conservation Projects Trust (SCP), with

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

as Royal Visitor, SCP continued the work of BTCV in Scotland until 31 March, 2002, when SCP ceased trading and BTCV resumed its former role in Scotland. * In 1998, BTCV joins forces with Dr William Bird of Sonning Common Health Centre in Oxfordshire to introduce the BTCV Green Gym project.

BTCV

The organisation underwent a second change of identity in 2000, taking the initialism BTCV as its new name in full. * In August 2006 BTCV moved to its present headquarters in

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

. The new "environmentally friendly" building features a

sedum ''Sedum'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. The genus has been described as containing up to 600 species, subsequently reduced to 400–500. They are leaf succule ...

-covered roof – hence its name – Sedum House. The Scottish office is in Stirling and the Northern Ireland office in Belfast.

The Conservation Volunteers

In May 2012, BTCV

rebranded Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

under the

trading name A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV). In 2014, TCV welcomed Sir Jonathon Porritt as President. In 2024, His Majesty The King became The Conservation Volunteers' new Royal Patron.

References

External links

The Conservation Volunteers website
including more detailed history. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conservation Volunteers, The Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom Nature conservation organisations based in the United Kingdom Charities based in South Yorkshire Environmental organizations established in 1970 1959 establishments in the United Kingdom