Clean-up & Conservation Team

The conservation team goes out between 2 – 3 times a week normally on a Monday and Wednesday and once a month on a Sunday. Volunteers can pick and chose which tasks they join in with depending on its location, the type of task they are interested in and individual availability.

Tasks tend to be half-days from 10.30am – 1pm and we try to offer something downstream, upstream and in the middle of the river every week between Balerno & Leith. There are different tasks that need to be done on the river depending on the time of year.

Walkway maintenance and gardening are very popular and are done all year round. In spring and summer, we are more in the river doing river clean ups and managing invasive plants (Himalayan Balsam and Giant Hogweed). In autumn we are cutting, raking meadows and planting bulbs, plugs, seeds and managing Japanese Knotweed. In winter we maintain any willow structures, plant trees, stop the walkway from puddling and prevent build-ups of mud.

We try our best to make tasks enjoyable and allow volunteers to get hands on with a variety of hand tools and chance to see Edinburgh in a different way through wading the river. We provide all protective equipment, tools and equipment. All tasks come with a full health and safety briefing and tool talk. Where necessary, training is provided.

In addition to the practical conservation we also have a volunteer survey team to help us monitor the wildlife and check that our conservation efforts are increasing biodiversity. All our tasks are working towards our goals and objectives in the  Water of Leith Management Plan.

RegistrationSign-up Details

We ask anyone interested in volunteering to download our Volunteer Pack.  If you would like to register interest in any of our roles, please use the button below to complete our registration form.

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