Get involved
There is more than one way to help
Money buys land, but it is not the only thing we need. Time, local knowledge and a quiet word about a field coming to market are all worth having.
Ways to help
Become a member
One member, one vote at the AGM, and a say in who the trustees are. Opening once we are registered.
Membership →Donate
Regular giving is what lets us commit to a purchase with confidence. Online giving opens once we are registered.
Donate →Volunteer
Hedge laying, path clearing, wildlife surveys, or help with admin, accounts and the website.
Volunteering →Offer land or a lead
Selling, or know of land that may come up? An early, confidential conversation helps enormously.
Land →Membership
Join the trust
Members elect the trustees and hold them to account. You get one vote regardless of how much you have given, an invitation to the AGM, and email updates on what we are buying and why. Membership is open to anyone interested in furthering our purposes, and the trustees consider every application.
What membership gets you, straight from the constitution:
- One member, one vote – the size of your subscription makes no difference
- A vote on who the trustees are, and the power to remove one
- The right to stand for election as a trustee yourself
- The annual accounts and the trustees’ report, put to you at the AGM
- Members’ walks on land not normally open
An annual subscription will be payable. We will set the rates before membership opens and publish them here – they will be modest, and they exist to fund the land, not the admin.
Membership is not open yet
We cannot enrol anyone until the Charity Commission grants our registration – signing people up to a charity that does not legally exist yet would be the wrong way round. So there is no sign-up form here on purpose.
Send us your name and postcode and we will write to you the day membership opens. That is the only thing we will use it for, and we will not pass it to anyone else.
Or email info@sawbridgeworthlandtrust.com directly – or join our mailing list, where we will announce it too.
Volunteering
Hands, and heads
Most of what the trust does is done by volunteers. You do not need experience for any of it.
On the land
Hedge laying, tree planting, clearing paths, mending fences and gates, litter picks. Work parties usually run on a weekend morning.
Wildlife surveys
Recording birds, butterflies, bats and plants so we can see whether our management is working. Training given.
Behind the scenes
Bookkeeping, membership admin, grant applications, photography, this website, and staffing a stall at town events.
Landowners
Selling land, or know of some?
If you own land around Sawbridgeworth and are thinking about selling, we would be glad to talk. We are a straightforward buyer: we pay market value, we do not need planning permission, and we are not going to change our minds about what the land is for.
We are also grateful for a quiet heads-up from anyone who hears that land may be coming to market. Early notice is often the difference between being able to act and reading about it afterwards.
Either way, write to info@sawbridgeworthlandtrust.com and we will treat the conversation as confidential.
Other ways to help. Talk to your neighbours, share our page, or mention us at your club or church. Most of our members joined because somebody local told them we existed.
Stay in touch
Not ready to commit? Stay in the loop
The simplest way to help right now is to stay in touch. We will email you when membership opens, when the first volunteer work parties are arranged, and whenever there is news worth sharing.