Quantock Hills. An Area of Outstanding Beauty

The Quantock Hills AONB Service works to conserve and enhance the Quantock Hills.   Volunteers are integral to this work, without their valuable input and hard work much of the work carried out by the AONB Service could not be done.  Volunteers help out in several key areas including disseminating information, practical habitat management and patrolling the hills.

How do volunteers help?

Volunteer Rangers

The volunteer rangers are now out at several key sites throughout the week undertaking patrols and acting as a point of contact. They are easily identifiable with logo’d clothing, and are there to offer a friendly face on site, answering any question visitors have about the Hills. Where’s the nearest pub? Where am I? Can I walk down here? They also work in partnership with the full time rangers to help report back any damage, access issues, site misuse or animal welfare issues so they can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Quantock Countryside Volunteers

This group of volunteers work with the AONB Service and the National Trust in partnership, and their contribution to the Hills never stops. The focus in recent weeks has been focused on the surveying, recording and mending of structures in the countryside. They’ve been involved with repairing steps at several National Trust sites and helped with the pig enclosure at Fyne Court. They’ve been helping clean up at Kilve beach by removing bags full of rubbish and other delightful treasures! They’ve surveyed for Dormice, nightjars, deer and other wildlife and finally have helped with site prep for the bushcraft event to be held on the Hills shortly.

Full Time Volunteer

The Full Time Volunteer is also in partnership with the National Trust. Our current full time volunteer Tori Kirk has also had a busy time over the past couple of months. Tori has got to grips with her role, helping to organise the Quantock Countryside Volunteers, meeting with landowners to discuss the management of sites, helping out with landscape assessments and joining in on practical tasks too.

Individual volunteers

These volunteers work closely with the Rangers and have been busy mainly helping out with the practical work on the Hills. This has ranged from the regular cutting of grass and over grown vegetation to litter picking and assisting with events. Their work helps to keep the footpaths and bridleways in a usable condition and encourages responsible use of the Hills. 

A big thank you to all the volunteers involved, who, without them the Hills would look and feel drastically different……Thank you!