Investing in Volunteers Award

Our volunteers play a vital role in all areas of Lee Valley Regional Park, helping maintain its open spaces and portfolio of venues and heritage sites, so being recognised for our volunteer management excellence once again is cause for celebration! Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Authority members, staff and volunteers, it’s an accolade we’ve been proud to hold since 2008.

The volunteer programme was formally introduced to the Authority in 2005 and has gone from strength to strength, with volunteers numbers increasing year on year. The type of opportunities available is extremely diverse. From goat checking to gardening, there is something for everyone.

We currently have 252 active volunteers aged from 18 – 88 years old. Many have travelled from afar including Wales and Lancashire, while others are lucky to have the Park on their doorstep. Whether it’s gardening at Myddelton House Gardens in Enfield, assisting with lessons at Lee Valley Riding Centre in Leyton, helping our conservation team, checking livestock or picking litter, their help is invaluable.

Shaun Dawson, Chief Executive, said: “Volunteers have a tangible impact on the park, they represent the public face of the Park team alongside rangers and other staff and bring their passion, commitment, local and expert knowledge to a variety of roles.”

Jessica Whitehead, Volunteers Officer said: “I am proud to say I have been a member of staff within the volunteering team for more than 10 years. Achieving the Investing in Volunteers award is a reminder of the Authority’s support and engagement with volunteers, in ways that not only benefit the work of the Authority but also every individual within our programme. No matter what a volunteer’s motivation for volunteering we will try to ensure they enjoy their time with us and have a worthwhile experience.”

Our volunteers often find their experiences hugely rewarding and many continue to give their time for many years. The park’s longest serving volunteers have been with us for an incredible 29 years!

You can find out more about the different types of volunteering available on our website: Volunteering | Lee Valley Regional Park

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Hi-res imagery of volunteers at Myddelton House Gardens, Bulls Cross is available to download from here: https://leevalleypark.canto.global/b/MCK0D

For more information, hi-res imagery or to request interviews, please contact:

Alison Moore, Senior Corporate Communications Officer

M: 07909 000316 E: amoore@leevalleypark.org.uk

Notes to Editors

About Lee Valley Regional Park:

London’s largest green space, Lee Valley Regional Park stretches 26 miles along the River Lee from Ware in Hertfordshire to East India Dock Basin on the Thames and offers a range of great activities, days out and attractions from cycling and white water sports to ice skating, horse riding, hockey, tennis and camping, alongside award winning nature reserves, green spaces, heritage sites and riverside trails. The park attracts around eight million visits a year.

· The park was created by a unique Act of Parliament as a “green lung” for London, Essex and Hertfordshire and features a 10,000 acre patchwork of heritage sites, nature reserves and open green spaces, alongside world class sports venues.

· Just over 50 years ago much of the area around the River Lee was derelict, neglected and unloved, home to redundant industry, sewage works, gravel pits, rubbish dumps and railway sidings. Over the last five decades Lee Valley Regional Park Authority has, with partners, led the almost wholesale transformation of the 10,000 acre, 26 mile long area.

· Our open spaces include eight Sites of Special Scientific Interest, a designation reserved for the most important areas for nature across the UK. Four of these form the Lee Valley Special Protection Area, the designation for sites in Europe with habitats that are important for migratory birds. They also form a Ramsar site, an area which has been globally recognised as an internationally important wetland.

· Nine of Lee Valley Regional Park’s open spaces, gardens and heritage sites retained the prestigious Green Flag Award in 2024. A tenth Green Flag was awarded to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is jointly managed by The London Legacy Development Corporation and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. This internationally recognised award signifies quality open spaces. Myddelton House Gardens in Enfield also retained the coveted Green Heritage Site Accreditation, in recognition of the Authority’s successful management of this historic venue.

· In further recognition of the Authority’s dedication to providing high quality open spaces, six sites across Lee Valley Regional Park were awarded the highest Gold accolade from the prestigious London in Bloom Awards for 2024, and two sites were judged the best in the capital.

· Lee Valley Regional Park Authority owns three London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games venues: Lee Valley White Water Centre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire and Lee Valley VeloPark and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in east London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

· The Authority’s sporting offer also includes the world class Lee Valley Athletics Centre, British Horse Society-approved Lee Valley Riding Centre and the newly constructed Olympic standard twin rink Lee Valley Ice Centre, the only venue of its kind in the south east.

· Three of Lee Valley’s sports venues were awarded an ‘Excellent’ Quest rating in 2023, with Lee Valley White Water Centre receiving the coveted ‘Outstanding’ rating, having achieved excellence in all criteria – the venue is one of only two centres in the country to hold this accreditation. Quest, the Sport England recommended Continuous Improvement Tool for leisure facilities, recognises quality facilities and the highest standard of customer service. Lee Valley Athletics Centre secured a ‘Very Good’ rating in 2023, and the new Lee Valley Ice Centre will be eligible for its first assessment in 2024.

· Other recreational activities at Lee Valley Regional Park include cycling, angling, walking and bird watching. Historical sites such as Myddelton House Gardens, Waltham Abbey Gardens, Rye House Gatehouse and Three Mills Green can be found throughout the park.

· The Authority's Learning and Engagement service offers a range of outdoor learning programmes for Primary, Secondary, SEN schools and community groups, delivered by a team of experienced and trained staff and coaches. In 2023 the service retained the nationally recognised Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge, demonstrating the quality of learning and effectiveness of risk management.

· Lee Valley Regional Park Authority offers a range of volunteering opportunities from individual roles to corporate volunteering and collaboration with clubs, groups and organisations. The Authority has held an Investing in Volunteers award for the past 15 years, the national standard for organisations who maintain quality volunteer management and procedure regimes.

· Lee Valley Regional Park offers four camping and caravan sites at a variety of scenic locations: Dobbs Weir in Hertfordshire, Sewardstone in north east London and Edmonton in north London and the bushcraft inspired Lee Valley Almost Wild Campsite in Broxbourne.

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