In 1959 the (then) Council for Nature appointed Brigadier Armstrong to form the Conservation Corps, with the objective of involving young volunteers, over the age of 16, in practical conservation work. The corp's first project was at Box Hill, Surrey, where 42 volunteers cleared dogwood to encourage the growth of juniper and distinctive chalk downland flora. One of the volunteers present was David Bellamy, who went on to become a Vice President of BTCV.