Bird nesting box on an old oak tree in a lush green park with wildflowers

DoE Bronze Award Volunteering at St Andrews Park

Looking for a meaningful project for your Bronze Award? FoSAP is interested in facilitating structured, self-driven opportunities to support local biodiversity and community spaces.

Email Us Your Idea See Example Project

Our Approach

Welcome, Young Volunteers

Whether you're working towards your DoE Volunteering section, completing a school community project, or simply want to make a difference — we'd love to hear from you. FoSAP is a volunteer-led group of park neighbours, and we're always looking for fresh energy and creative ideas.

Open to Opportunities We actively welcome creative, self-driven ideas. If you see something in the park that could be improved, researched, or built — bring it to us.

Hybrid Project Model Because we are a volunteer group, we love projects that combine independent research and making at home with practical application and installation inside the park. The best projects blend both.

Featured Project Idea

The Bird & Bat Box Initiative

Bronze Award — 3 Months

Build, Map & Install Nesting Boxes for Park Wildlife

A fully structured project that takes you from species research to a physical installation in the park — perfect for a self-driven DoE Volunteering section.

Phase 1 Weeks 1–2

Research & Planning

Research native park species — blue tits, robins, pipistrelle bats — to determine exact box dimensions, hole sizes, and safe materials (untreated FSC timber, no toxic glues).

Phase 2 Weeks 3–4

Mapping & Placement Strategy

Survey the park to map optimal tree locations. Factors to consider: quiet areas away from paths, correct heights (2–4m), and facing North/North-East to avoid blistering sun and wet winds.

Phase 3 Weeks 5–10

The Build

Construct 10 boxes at home under parental/guardian supervision, working from standard patterns at a comfortable pace of about one box per week.

Phase 4 Weeks 11–12

Installation & Mapping

Coordinate with a FoSAP committee member to safely install the boxes using tree-friendly fixings (avoiding nails that damage bark) and log the final locations for our park biodiversity map.

Important: Logistics & Safety

Supervision

For volunteers under 16, building and making phases are completed safely at home under parental/guardian supervision. Any in-park installation or activity sessions will always be coordinated with a FoSAP committee representative present.

DoE Assessors

A designated FoSAP committee member will act as your official DoE Assessor, track your progress through each phase, and complete your final DoE sign-off report when the project is finished.

Get Started

Pitch Us Your Idea

Have an idea, or want to get started on the Bird & Bat Box project? Drop us an email with your award level, timeline, and what you'd like to achieve.

Email Us

Send your proposal to our volunteering team:

info@fosap.org