Become a Volunteer Guide
- Would you like to do something rewarding and worthwhile?
- Do you enjoy spending time outdoors?
- Are you interested in mental health and wellbeing?
- Are you a looking for a counselling student placement?
🌿 Become a Dose of Nature Volunteer Guide
Are you passionate about nature and keen to support others in improving their mental health? At Dose of Nature, our volunteer guides play a vital role in helping people reconnect with the natural world to improve wellbeing, reduce anxiety, and build resilience.What You’ll Do as a Volunteer Nature Guide
As a trained volunteer, you will:
- Lead one-to-one nature-based sessions with clients referred through their GP or professional health services.
- Support people on an 8-week journey to reconnect with green spaces and develop their own relationship with nature.
- Offer empathy, encouragement, and guidance whilst using our Dose of Nature techniques, providing compassionate conversation and presence.
- Commit to a half-day per week for a minimum of 9–12 months.
“You don’t need to be a therapist—just someone who listens, walks, and inspires through nature.”
🌱 What We’re Looking For
You don’t need previous experience in mental health or nature therapy, we’ll provide all the training you need. What matters most:
- A genuine love of nature
- Compassion, patience, and strong listening skills
- Reliability and a non-judgmental approach
- Confidence to work independently outdoors, with support from our team

What You’ll Receive
We’ll give you:
- Full training in our structured nature-based intervention model
- Ongoing support and supervision
- Opportunities to connect with a community of like-minded volunteers
- A chance to make a tangible difference in people’s lives, and your own
Location, Commitment & Application Details
Location
We have TWO hubs currently:
- Kew: Pensford Field, TW9 4HR
- Guildford: Dapdune Wharf, GU1 4RR
Commitment
- Sessions take place in local green spaces in the surrounding areas of our hubs
- Volunteers must be 21+ and commit to one half-day a week for at least 9–12 months
Counselling Student Placements
Each year we accept approx. 2-3 placement students for the start of each academic year (October onwards) at each site. For our Kew branch this is ideally to work with clients on our young people programme (16-25 years old). Training generally takes place in September so make sure to apply early.
Placement applications for counselling students are​ now closed for the 2026 / 2027 academic year. Applications will re-open between 1st May 2027 and 15th June 2027. If successful, you will need to be able to join our Nature Guide training in September 2027.
If you're interested, please complete the Placement Application form and email it to us along with a copy of your CV. The team will review all applications and arrange interviews in a timely manner.
Ready to Apply as a Volunteer Guide?
If you feel inspired to support others in finding peace and wellbeing through nature, we’d love to hear from you. Download and complete the application form below, and email it to the relevant Dose of Nature hub:
Guildford: guildford@doseofnature.org.uk
Once we’ve received your application, we’ll invite you to a virtual interview to explore your experience, skills, suitability and commitment for the volunteer guide role.
Application closing dates
In Kew, we will be training our next cohort of volunteers in Spring 2027 and accepting applications from January 2027. At that stage, please use the volunteer application form if you are interested in volunteering (N.B. Placement form only to be used for placement applications).
We will be training our next cohort of volunteers in September and October 2026 but these spaces have now been closed to new applicants.
Applications for both volunteers and placement students at our Guildford branch are now closed.
The application period will reopen in 2027.