G
et Involved

Volunteering

At Kent CRP we are always looking for new volunteers to get involved with projects and activities along our three lines.

When volunteering, you can expect to be treated with respect, dignity, and kindness by everyone on the Kent CRP team. Volunteering is and should be for everyone.

You don’t have to be a superhero to be a volunteer, but sometimes it can come in very useful.

There are lots of ways that you can support our work. Feel free to look around the Kent CRP and Community Rail Network websites for inspiration, and tell us about your own ideas too.

Helping us at events in your local community. e.g. assisting at promotional stalls, engaging in passenger surveys.
Sharing your skills on a pro-bono basis. e.g. creating content for social media campaigns, drafting surveys for use at events, taking photos for our website and social media, developing ALT text for images to make our website and social media more accessible.
Acting as a Walk Assistant on our led walks.
Groups can become community station adopters (see below).
Join one of our three Line Groups and bring fresh ideas to our Annual Action Plan. Be prepared to give your time, enthusiasm, and skills to help deliver your proposals.

Four volunteers stood behind colourful display stalls. Brochures and posters promote rail safety. — Helping at our rail safety stall

A woman pedaling the smoothie bike. The smoothie bike is an ordinary cycle with its rear wheel raised on a stand, powering a blender. Pedaling makes a delicious smoothie. — Promoting healthy sustainable travel

Maria Domican Volunteer of the Year 2021-22 receiving her award from Kent CRP Chair Chris Fribbins — Recognition for the work of our volunteers

Infographic "All Love Is Equal and Valid", features simple graphics of same sex and mixed sex pairs and rainbow flag — Poster design

Info graphic "Mental Health Matters" — Poster design

Certificate of Excellence awarded to Sheppey College for station improvements 2020 — Awards and recognition

Creating social media content

Looking down from a footbridge across railway tracks between the station platforms, the railway line stretches into the distance. — Pictures of our stations

Group of Five Acre Wood Students from Snodland — Pictures of our activities

Certificate of Shortlisting, Photo Competition Community Rail Awards 2020 — Recognition

Planting in progress in the verge alongside a station platform. — Station adoption

A planted verge alongside a station platform. — Station adoption

Susan Eason and Jo Eglin being presented with Charing Station Adoption certificate — Station adoption

A newly constructed planter being filled with earth and stocked with plants. — Station adoption

A display of crocuses on a lawned area in front of Queenborough station — Station adoption

A group of walkers on a path across a field — Led Walk

A group of students on a train being interviewed about their travel choices. — Understanding young people's travel choices

Young learners receive rail safety guidance from Southeastern's Travel Safe Travel Smart Team — Travel training

Members gathered outside of Strood station mural — Unveiling a community mural

Members at our volunteer celebration 2021 — Celebrating volunteering

Fun and laughter at our volunteer celebration — Celebrating volunteering

Cutting the ribbon for the Kent Downs Line — Cutting the ribbon to launch our work with communities on the Kent Downs Line

There are additional volunteering opportunities through our partnership with Sustrans to access resources and training to prepare you to run promotional stalls, or to support our led walks and cycle rides.

Station Adoption

More and more community groups and individuals are adopting their local station. It’s all about local pride and seeing the station as an important part of the community. Railway companies have seen a rise in the use of adopted stations, less vandalism and in many cases externally-funded improvements.

Station Adoption Groups can undertake a wide variety of activities, ranging from feeding in comments, the provision of station enhancements such as gardens and planters, cycle racks through to art work and signage. Station adoption is a way of transforming stations, bringing them into the heart of the community and encouraging greater use of environmentally friendly public transport.

But there are some simple things which groups need to be aware of. Safety must be paramount! You also need to make sure that whatever you do, has the agreement of the train operating company and Network Rail, though they are very supportive of communities adopting their station.

To find out more about Station Adoption you can contact us at the Kent Community Rail Partnership or visit Community Rail Network for more information.This tells you how to go about setting up an adoption group and has lots of examples of what station adopters have achieved at stations around the country. Click the link to view the Station Adoption booklet produced by Community Rail Network: Station Adoption Booklet.

Network Rail’s Community Scheme

If your station adoption scheme also covers land that is not in the Southeastern lease then you may be able to do something with it via Network Rail’s Community Scheme. This enables voluntary groups to look after disused areas of Network Rail land, such as disused platforms, land adjoining stations, or land underneath viaducts. Groups keep the area tidy, pick up litter and trim vegetation. Some grow flowers, vegetables and herbs in tubs or planters.

Network Rail has devised precautions, based on the safety procedures for their track workers, to keep volunteers away from the danger of moving trains and make sure they don’t cause problems for the operating railway. They assess each proposal for a scheme in the light of these.