Corporate volunteering at Bryngarw Country Park is a great way for you and your colleagues to make a real difference to the local community and demonstrate genuine social impact.
Volunteering in nature not only boosts mental and physical wellbeing but also offers opportunities for important social connections and collaborations away from the usual working environment.
Our rangers have extensive experience of working with volunteers and can create a bespoke corporate day to suit your requirements.
We offer lunch and refreshments, and for our two-day packages, an evening meal and overnight accommodation are provided at Bryngarw House.
All bookings include a tour of B-Leaf, our on-site horticultural training programme for adults with learning disabilities.
By choosing Bryngarw for your next corporate away day, you’re not just investing in your team – you’re investing in people with learning disabilities, in community green spaces, and in the long-term sustainability of one of Wales’ most loved country parks.
Tasks will depend on the season and our priorities for the year. Our rangers will welcome you, introduce the task and supervise the session. All training, tools and equipment are provided, but we recommend you wear appropriate outdoor clothing and sturdy footwear.
• Bramble Bashing (January – March)
• Rhododendron Clearance (January – March and October – December)
• Balsam Bashing (May – July)
• River Clean Up and Litter Picking (May – July)
• Coppicing (October – December)
• Japanese Garden Restoration (October – December)
At Bryngarw Country Park, we love our native species. Brambles are a wonderfully successful plant that are quick to claim territory and reproduce easily and effectively. They also produce valuable protected testing spaces for birds and small mammals.
However, they need controlling and this is where we need your help!
By cutting down the brambles, you will free space for smaller plants and wildflowers and allow sunlight to filter down to the woodland floor, allowing them to flourish.
This session entails cutting away the bramble in specific woodland areas (using hand tools) and stacking the cut bramble into dead hedges and habitat piles. These become wildlife corridors for the small mammals and minibeasts living in the woodlands.
The best part about bramble bashing is coming back in April to see the carpets of bluebells and wood anemone, and realising the rewards of the hard work you put in.
Rhododendron ponticum is an invasive non-native species (INNS). The popular plant may look nice, but not only can it carry disease, it is also known as an invasive species, which can wipe out huge swathes of native woodland plants and is particularly troublesome in our rare temperate rainforest areas.
This invasive shrub spreads by prolific seeding and then thick layering of branches. This eventually forms a closed canopy, which shuts out all light to the woodland floor and reduces the rich biodiversity of our native woodlands. Rhododendrons cause trouble for a variety of landscapes and habitats, including ours at Bryngarw.
This session entails cutting the Rhododendron back to its stump in all our wooded areas, using hand tools. We arrange the cuttings into habitat piles and dead hedges to create mini ecosystems for the minibeasts and small mammals living in the woodlands.
Bryngarw Country Park has many different species of native plants, trees and flowers. We try our very best to continuously enhance and develop our wild spaces and controlling the invasive non-native species (INNS) is at the top of our list when it comes to conservation.
Himalayan Balsam is now a serious problem. First introduced to the UK in 1839 as a garden plant, the mountainous species soon naturalised itself, overpowering native plants and conquering vast amounts of land in a short space of time. Unlike some native plants it can tolerate low levels of light, towering above existing habitats and actively killing them off.
At a staggering 6-10 feet, Himalayan Balsam is our largest annual plant, growing rapidly while disseminating its explosive seed pods in the process. By helping us to remove Himalayan Balsam, you’re ensuring native plants can flourish all year round, rather than leaving empty spaces once the plant has died back in the winter. You’re allowing wildlife corridors to prosper, increasing annual biodiversity, which isn’t in competition for light, nutrients and space.
This session entails hand-pulling the balsam out of the ground, snapping the stem below the first node and piling the balsam up to rot down naturally.
The River Garw runs through our park and unfortunately rubbish, plastics and waste are discarded and find their way into the river. Many trees have fallen into the river and whilst some believe they should be removed, this is not strictly true. Rivers, and the ecosystems they provide, thrive from having large wood debris in them, changing the flow and collecting silt. The problem occurs when discarded waste washes against these trees and creates ‘litter-bergs’ in our river system.
By helping us remove the waste and litter build up, you will be helping all our freshwater species, from river birds such as the dipper and the wild brown trout that spawn here, to the caddis fly larvae and tiny insect life starting their lives in the river.
This session entails getting your wellies and waders on and manually removing litter from the river by hand or with litter pickers. Those not wanting to enter the river can litter pick the paths and river banks.
Coppicing is a traditional woodland management technique which dates back to the Stone Age. It involves felling trees at their base to create a ‘stool’ where new shoots will grow. You can recognise a coppiced tree by the many thin trunks or ‘poles’ at its base.
We actively use the coppiced wood in a variety of ways; some for firewood for our volunteer and education groups, and other parts for dead hedging and habitat creation.
This session entails cutting down small trees using a specific technique and arranging the cuttings into various size groups ready for processing. All tools and training will be provided on the day.
At Bryngarw Country Park we have an amazing Japanese Garden that dates back to 1910. Over the years it has lost some of its beauty due to the number of invasive species that have colonised the pond walls and trenches.
By removing the vegetation in and around the historic stonework, you will improve the area and help us restore our Japanese Garden to its original glory.
This session entails pulling and uprooting vegetation from within the stonework around the ponds and trenches, using hand tools. All tools and training will be provided on the day, wellies are advantageous as getting into the trenches is key to success.
Team building activities in the great outdoors offers many benefits, from improved communication, collaboration and camaraderie among colleagues, to reduced stress and enhanced mental and physical wellbeing from spending time in nature.
Team benefits:
• Working together to achieve a common goal builds trust and confidence
• Individuals can step up and take on leadership roles during the activity
• A shared experience can strengthen relationships between team members and departments
• Opportunity to discover each other’s strengths, fostering a more inclusive environment
• Boosting endorphins, promoting a healthy lifestyle, improving workplace wellbeing
• Stimulating creative and innovative thinking and problem solving
At Bryngarw Country Park, groups can learn the vital bushcraft skills of fire building and lighting, led by highly experienced park rangers. Participants are taught several techniques needed to start fire by friction, essential for survival, including using:
• Ferro rods and steel strikers
• Flint and steel (yes, using an actual rock!)
• Bow drill (essentially rubbing two sticks together)
The process of gathering materials, such as tinder, kindling and larger fuel, demonstrates the importance of resourcefulness and patience; key transferable skills for the workplace. All tools will be provided.
Team building activities will take place in Bryngarw Country Park’s award-winning woodlands, the ideal location for individuals to enjoy time in the fresh air and the opportunity to disconnect from their usual working environment.
Corporate volunteering sessions start at £30 per person, excluding catering and overnight accommodation if required.
Please get in touch to discuss your requirements and for a tailored quote.
| Package Type | Duration | Cost per person |
| Volunteering | Half-day | £30 |
| Volunteering | Full-day | £50 |
| Teambuilding | Full-day | £55 |
| Combined (Volunteering & Teambuilding) | Full-day | £60 |
| Japanese Garden Restoration | (with overnight at Bryngarw House) | Contact us for a tailored quote |
…
Optional add-ons:
• Tea & coffee – included as standard
• Breakfast roll (bacon, sausage or veggie) – £3.50pp
• Lunch options (e.g. soup & sandwiches, hot meal & dessert, BBQ) – from £8-15pp
• Afternoon snacks (cake, fruit, pastries) – from £2.50pp
Contact Us
For more information and a tailored quote, please:
Email: events@bryngarwhouse.com
Phone: 01656 725155
Did you know?
Bryngarw Country Park is managed by Awen Cultural Trust, a registered charity. All profits are reinvested into the maintenance and improvement of Bryngarw’s facilities, which are enjoyed by over 200,000 visitors a year.
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