The Conservation Volunteers

What The Conservation Volunteers does

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) is a UK-registered charity (charity number 261009 in England, SC039302 in Scotland) and private limited company (00976410), founded in 1959 as BTCV and rebranded to its current name in the 2010s. Headquartered in Doncaster with regional offices across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland (Belfast, Coleraine, Derry/Londonderry, Holywood), TCV delivers practical conservation, habitat restoration, and community engagement programmes including flagship offerings I Dig Trees (free trees for communities with ESG-tracking mobile app), Green Gym (health-focused outdoor volunteering), the Cultra Tree Nursery (UKISG-certified native tree production), and the TCV Community Network Membership for community groups.

TCV operates a hybrid non-profit revenue model combining corporate volunteering partnerships (NatWest, PwC, Sky, Bloomberg, Investec, Centrica, Gucci and others), grants from foundations and lottery funders (Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Heritage Fund, People's Postcode Lottery, Community Fund, European Social Fund), government funding across multiple UK jurisdictions, individual donations and legacy giving, and corporate sponsorship of programmes like I Dig Trees. Volunteer participation is free for individuals; corporate engagement is structured around bespoke employee volunteering days, team-building events, and ESG/CSR outcomes.

With 501-1000 employees and approximately 90,000 annual participants transforming 1,300+ community green spaces per year, TCV positions itself as a delivery intermediary connecting corporate ESG capital and public-sector funding to on-the-ground environmental outcomes. The organisation is led by CEO Rebecca Kennelly, with Sir David Attenborough serving as Vice President.

Name

The Conservation Volunteers

Legal name

The Conservation Volunteers

Website

https://tcv.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Conservation Volunteers is a UK charity founded in 1959 that delivers practical conservation, tree planting, and community green space programmes, serving 90,000 people annually across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland through corporate volunteering partnerships, lottery and government grants, and its Green Gym and I Dig Trees initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Conservation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation (BPAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Conservation, Research & Volunteer Experiences (THAJAIAJ)

Keywords

• Environmental conservation services
• Community volunteering programmes
• Habitat restoration services
• Corporate ESG partnerships
• Green space management

Headquarters

HQ city

Doncaster

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Volunteering Partnerships: Companies pay for or sponsor corporate volunteering days and employee conservation programs, delivering CSR and ESG outcomes. Organizations like NatWest (18-year partnership), Bloomberg, Investec, Sky (1,500+ staff, 11,000 hours), and PwC participate in these programs.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, fundraising activities, and legacy giving from supporters. The organization operates a community network membership with benefits including courses, discounts, insurance options, and expert guidance.
3. Government and Trust Funding: Funding from government bodies, lottery sources (People's Postcode Lottery, Community Fund), and charitable foundations including Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Heritage Fund, and European Social Fund.
4. I Dig Trees Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorship of the I Dig Trees program where organizations fund tree planting on their behalf, contributing to community green spaces with measurable ESG impact.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Conservation Volunteers is a registered charity delivering practical environmental conservation through volunteer programmes. It plants trees free of charge to communities via its I Dig Trees programme, runs the Green Gym health-focused outdoor volunteering scheme, operates a UKISG-certified native tree nursery in Northern Ireland, and delivers paid corporate volunteering days and ESG partnerships for businesses. Supporting offerings include a community network membership, conservation handbooks, tree library resources and educational programmes for schools.

Product overview

The Conservation Volunteers operates a portfolio of interconnected environmental programmes centred on connecting people with nature. The core offerings include I Dig Trees (free tree planting for communities with ESG tracking), Green Gym (health-focused conservation volunteering), and the TCV Tree Nursery (growing local provenance native trees in Northern Ireland). Supporting these are the TCV Tree Library (species information), Grow Native Trees (educational guides for growing trees from seed), TCV Community Network Membership (group support and resources), Corporate Volunteering (employee engagement programmes), Activity Resources (practical conservation guides), and Conservation Handbooks (technical reference materials). The ecosystem is designed to support individuals and communities from initial engagement through to long-term environmental stewardship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Green Gym: A social alternative to conventional gyms that promotes better health and wellbeing through outdoor conservation activities.
• I Dig Trees

Products and services

• I Dig Trees

Quantifiable outcome

• 90,000 people engaged annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered major, flagship and core.

• NHSmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting health and wellbeing outcomes through nature-based activities, aligning Green Gym with social prescribing and public health initiatives.
• InvestecflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partnership at Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park supporting Common Tern conservation through construction of predator-proof nesting rafts and employee volunteering days.
• BloombergflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor corporate partnership including Big Help Out family volunteering days and urban nature restoration at Stave Hill and other UK locations.
• PwCflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne Firm One Day (OFOD) volunteering partnership with approximately 600 PwC employees participating annually in conservation activities across UK sites.
• SkyflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSky Cares volunteering partnership since 2019 across multiple UK sites. Over 1,500 Sky staff have contributed 11,000+ hours to conservation projects.
• CentricamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPledged 100,000 days of volunteering by 2030 through People and Planet Plan. TCV delivers high-quality environmental volunteering opportunities aligned with sustainability goals.
• Siemens Mobility LimitedmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partnership boosting biodiversity through employee volunteering across UK conservation sites.
• DeloittemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSR volunteering programs with TCV for team-building and environmental conservation activities.
• Network RailmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partnership for environmental and conservation projects along railway corridors and adjacent green spaces.
• National GridmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partnership supporting environmental projects and employee volunteering in communities near National Grid infrastructure.
• Woodland TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKISG (UK and Ireland Sourced and Grown) Assurance Scheme partnership. TCV's tree nursery achieved UKISG status, providing provenance-assured native trees for woodland creation projects.
• Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth authority partnership supporting Green Gym and wellbeing outcomes through nature-based activities and social prescribing connections.
• The Land TrustmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting management and development of green space and land held in trust for community benefit.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Froglife: Smaller UK reptile and amphibian conservation charity with volunteer programmes and corporate engagement; competes in the same UK conservation grant and volunteer pools with overlapping donor overlap.

Direct peers

• John Muir Trust: Scottish conservation charity protecting wild land, running volunteer conservation programmes, and engaging corporate partners - directly comparable UK conservation and corporate volunteering focus.
• Woodland Trust: UK's leading woodland conservation charity with extensive corporate partnerships and a tree-planting operation directly overlapping TCV's I Dig Trees programme and UKISG provenance standards.
• Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT): Wetland conservation charity with visitor centres, volunteer programmes, and corporate partnerships; comparable UK conservation charity model competing in the same grant and CSR market.
• National Trust: England/Wales/NI heritage and conservation charity with volunteer programmes, corporate partnerships, and conservation delivery; the dominant UK conservation charity competing for the same donor base.
• Keep Britain Tidy: UK environmental charity running community volunteering campaigns (e.g., Big Help Out) and corporate partnerships; closely comparable in mission and GTM channels including corporate and community volunteering.
• Trees for Cities: Urban tree-planting charity delivering volunteer planting days and corporate partnerships; the closest direct competitor on the urban tree-planting and corporate volunteering proposition overlapping I Dig Trees.
• Groundwork UK: Federation of local Groundwork trusts delivering community environmental improvement, corporate volunteering, and green space regeneration across the UK; comparable model and overlapping local authority and corporate clients.
• RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds): Large UK wildlife charity with corporate partnerships, volunteer programmes, and conservation landholdings; competes for the same grant and CSR pool as TCV and shares corporate volunteering channels.
• The Wildlife Trusts: The UK's largest federation of 46 local wildlife trusts; a direct UK peer running nature reserves, community conservation, volunteer engagement, and corporate partnerships across overlapping donor and ESG funding pools as TCV.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TCVtweets
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/TheConservationVolunteers/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheConservationVolunteers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-conservation-volunteers
• Instagraminstagram.com/tcv_theconservationvolunteers

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Conservation Volunteers