DEFRA is using high street gift vouchers to encourage people to volunteer for conservation work as part of the Muck In4Life campaign, launched this week.

Muck In4Life is intended to encourage families and people of all ages to take part in conservation volunteering, with all sorts of activities on offer including bird surveying, pond de-sludging, coppicing, scrub bashing and path building. DEFRA (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) is suggesting that people can also get fit and healthy and enjoy the countryside.

 

The initiative was launched by Wildlife and Biodiversity Minister Huw Irranca-Davies, who spent a day doing conservation work in the South East (see picture).

Volunteers are also being invited to take part in the Muck in4Life photo competition, where they can win high street vouchers simply by taking snaps of their volunteering experience. The winning photos will also be displayed at the world famous Kew Gardens.

 

The Muck In4Life photo competition is being run in association with the International Garden Photographer of the Year and Kew Gardens. There will be an overall Conservation Photographer of the Year, as well as regional winners and an under-16 year old category. Entrants can submit their photos at www.direct.gov.uk/muckin4life