Volunteering in the Historic Environment

Volunteering in Scotland’s historic environment is on the up, with at least 17,000 people giving up their free time to support the sector in 2015.

Volunteering opportunities are rich and diverse – indeed 46% of organisations who took part in the study were entirely volunteer-run and would not exist without volunteers.

Organisations value the particular skills and expertise that volunteers bring and how they help to generate connections within communities. In-depth case study materials also reveal the health and wellbeing benefits that people can receive through volunteering.

It’s not always easy though – the report sets out a range of barriers and challenges to volunteering. However, it also identifies actions to help overcome these including improving awareness of volunteer activities, recruitment tactics and investment in volunteer management.