National Parks UK, home
Scroll down

Green Beacons

National Parks throughout the United Kingdom are inspiring future generations to embrace incredible landscape and connect with nature.

Green Beacons is all about training and supporting National Parks apprentices, employees, partners and volunteers to be youth leaders: inspirational figures that can help young people fall in love with being outdoors.

Green Beacons for the future

Skilled Volunteers , Discover more (opens in a new tab)

Training as a skilled volunteer in National Parks can be life-enhancing and life-changing, as these volunteers explain.

Giving Teachers Confidence , Discover More (opens in a new tab)

Green Beacons is inspiring teachers to integrate outdoor learning and nature connectedness into the national curriculum. Read more about their experience.

John Muir Award , Discover More (opens in a new tab)

Working to the John Muir Award framework to explore, discover, care and share, participants learn how to look after wild places and get the most out of them. Read more about some of their experiences.

‘Just seeing the children experience the fort, rather than reading about it or looking at it on screen, was everything.’

Interested?

If you are interested in learning more about opportunities near you and how you can get involved with National Parks, you can find links and resources below.

Volunteer , Start your Journey (opens in a new tab)

Find information and direct links to National Parks volunteer pages and current vacancies.

Find Your National Park , Find out more (opens in a new tab)

Learn about the 15 UK National Parks and what makes them unique, you can find your nearest National Park on our UK map view.

Get in touch , Educational teams (opens in a new tab)

If you are a teacher or outdoor educator interested in training opportunities you can find direct contacts for National Park educational teams.

Discover more

National Parks Green Pathways is designed to inspire children and young adults, reaching out into communities beyond National Park boundaries.

Green Shoots , Discover More (opens in a new tab)

Green Shoots supports activities, learning and outreach programmes that connect children and young people to nature and the outdoors.

Green Leaders , Discover More (opens in a new tab)

Green Leaders supports young people to find their voice as champions of the Green Economy and conservation.

Generation Green , Discover More (opens in a new tab)

Through work-based career entry, training, volunteering, residential programmes, outdoor and online learning experiences, Generation Green has created more than 100,000 opportunities for young people to connect with nature.

It’s not every day you get to see one of our National Parks in biscuit form on @britishbakeoff!

Last night, The Great British Bake Off contestant @itsdoctoryan created a beautiful biscuit mosaic inspired by the Broads National Park, perfectly capturing the view at St Benet’s Mill, Thurne. 

And it wasn’t just a feast for the eyes as the mosaic was made using treacle and ginger, honey and lemon, cocoa and malted milk, and pistachio biscuits. 

Two great things combined: a beautiful National Park view and delicious biscuits. What could be better than that? 💚 

Photo: Channel 4

#GBBO #BakeOff #NorfolkBroads @broadsnationalpark
The Yorkshire Dales has one of the highest concentrations of caves and caverns of any of our 15 National Parks - a whole landscape hiding beneath the ground.

Our National Parks don’t just protect and preserve the landscapes we see every day. They also help care for historic and unique places discovered by our ancestors, like Ingleborough Cave and Gaping Gill, both of which were shrouded in myth and legend until they were explored by Victorians in the 1800s.

There’s so much more to our National Parks than meets the eye and sometimes, quite literally beneath the surface 👀 

#YorkshireDales #GapingGill #Ingleborough
A week on from National Parks UK’s Big Volunteer Weekend, we’re still celebrating the people who make a difference across our National Parks.

Last weekend, hundreds of people came together across all 15 National Parks to give their time, share their skills and support our landscapes.

But volunteering in our National Parks doesn’t happen just one weekend a year. All year round, volunteers play an incredible variety of roles – from leading guided walks and supporting education, to conservation, planting and caring for our landscapes.

Every volunteer makes a valuable contribution to protecting our natural and cultural heritage. We simply couldn’t do what we do without you. 💚

So, to all our volunteers: thank you for your time, energy, enthusiasm and everything you bring to our National Parks.
If you know someone who volunteers in a National Park, help us spread the thanks by sharing this post. 🌿

#Volunteers #NationalParks #NationalParksUK
It’s the Autumn Equinox 🍂

Our National Parks are always changing in time with the rhythm of nature, but this becomes particularly noticeable when autumn arrives.

Deer begin to rut, spiders’ cobwebs glisten in the fresh light, fungi become more prominent, and leaves begin to change colour.

What changes have you noticed so far? 🧡

#Autumn #AutumnEquinox #NationalParks