About volunteering

Fitness trailVolunteers play a vital role in the Trust's work. With hundreds of committed volunteers we are achieving great things and with your help we can do so much more. Each volunteer brings with them knowledge and enthusiasm which really makes a difference to the work of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.

So, why not get involved - protect wildlife, have fun, get fit and meet people who share your interests.

How can I get involved?

Its easy to get involved with the Trust’s work, and the amount of time you spend volunteering is up to you – you can spend as little or as much as you like.  Whether you like being indoors, outdoors, active or creative, there is bound to be something to suit you!

Current Volunteer Opportunities

 

To find out a bit more about what each of the current opportunties involves, please see the section below called 'What will I be doing?'

Every week throughout the year the Mid Week Volunteers visit Trust nature reserves to carry out essential maintenance and conservation work. Work varies throughout the seasons and the teams visit nearly all of the Trust's nature reserves through the year. Please click on the link below for the latest work party programmes.

Ceredigion

Pembrokeshire

Glamorgan

Carmarthenshire

Further information about the nature reserves listed in the work party programes can be found on our reserves webpage

If you are interested in this volunteering opportunity, please complete and return the registration form at the foot of this page.

We are looking for education volunteers to help out during the week.  Volunteers will help lead school visits, leading sessions such as pond dipping, bug hunts and bird watching.   Volunteers should be enthusiastic and interested in nature. Education volunteers will need to have an enhanced CRB check.

If you are interested in this volunteering opportunity, please complete and return the registration form at the foot of this page.

The rangers at Kenfig Nature Reserve in Pyle are looking for volunteers to help with their Watch Group.  Volunteers will help organise and assist with running of events for young members of the local Wildlife Watch group.  The Group meets once a month usually on a Wednesday between 4.30pm and 6pm

If you are interested and would like more details, please contact either Graham Holmes or David Carrington on 01656 743386.

For sometime now the Welsh Wildlife Centre at Cilgerran has felt that it should run a Watch group for young people in the local community.  Such a group would heighten knowledge of wildlife and the related topics of conservation and sustainability, offer an out of school hours structured group activity, engage further with the local community and offer family members a Watch Group activity for their children.

Vicky Watson has agreed to run the group and we are now looking for someone to fill the second Watch Leader role. We would also welcome voluntary help in running the Watch group on a regular or occasional basis.   It is envisaged to offer a Watch group meeting (maximum of 3 hours) once a month at the weekend at the Welsh Wildlife Centre at Cilgerran. 

Any persons interested in this position should contact Vicky Watson on 01239 621212 for a Watch Leader Application Form.  Please note that as the role will involve working closely with young people, volunteers will be required to complete a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure Application.

In addition to these opportunities, we would like to hear from you if you have a specialist skill or specialist training in an area that you think might be helpful to us. For example, some Trusts have benefitted from voluntary help from Architects or Land Agents.

Volunteer Registration

If you would like to sign up as a volunteer, please download the Volunteer Registration Form, complete it and return to The Nature Centre, Fountain Road, Tondu, Bridgend CF32 0EH

A member of staff will contact you to discuss volunteering opportunities and invite you to visit us for an informal chat. If you are volunteering as a Reserve Warden, or for educational or office-based acitivites, you will also be asked to sign a Volunteer Agreement with the member of staff who is acting as your Supporter.

If you are volunteering to join in with practical work parties on the reserves, on receipt of the Registration Form, you will be sent a work party programme for your loal area with all necessary information. You can then join in with any or all of the work parties.

In addition to these regular volunteering acitivites, some specific volunteering posts will be advertised on this website each year. These include Assistant Site Wardens based at Teifi Marshes nature reserve in Ceredigion. Assistant Site Wardens gain experience in reserve, visitor centre and visitor management and the posts comes with accommodation on site.

What will I be doing?

 

Conservation Volunteers

Join in with group work parties undertaking practical work on reserves: coppicing, brush cutting, fencing, hedging, gates, pond clearance, paths, rubbish collecting, hides, bridges, handrails, ditch clearance etc. 

You can come along to as few or as many work parties as you like!  Just contact us the day before on the details given in the individual work programmes below, between 9am and 5pm to check for any last minute changes.  Occasional changes are necessary at the last minute, for example if the weather turns particularly bad.

We may be able to help with transport to and from the reserves, by arranging to meet volunteers at a train station or other designated place. 

A bit about the work

Some of the tasks can be quite physically demanding, but don’t be put off; you can go at your own pace and only need do what you feel comfortable with!  You will be using a variety of hand tools such as bow saws, loppers and billhooks and some specialist tools. You will also learn about the benefits of your work and what we hope to achieve on each nature reserve. Don’t worry if it is your first time, the work party leader will give you all the training necessary and we provide the tools.  You just need to be enthusiastic and moderately fit. 

If you are under 15, you will need to be accompanied on the work party by an adult and our insurance will only cover people up to 80 years of age. 

What to wear and what to bring

Please wear tough boots or wellies and clothes appropriate to the weather.  Remember too, that the weather can be changeable, so always bring waterproofs along with you, or sunscreen and a hat if it is hot and sunny.  Bring enough food and drink for the day, remembering that physical work can make you thirsty!

Linked to your local reserve, a warden is the main point of contact between the reserve and the Trust staff - our 'eyes and ears' on the ground. Wardens help maintain the reserve in accordance with the Management Plan and under the direction of the Trust staff.

Wardens help:-

Maintain safe paths, bridleways, gates and stiles.

Keep fencing and hedges in good order

Keep records of new sightings or the disappearance of species.

Maintain good relationships with the local community.

Conduct a Health and Safety audit every year.

Report to and liaise with your local Wildlife Trust Officer.

Welcoming all visitors, selling goods from shops, stacking shelves, pricing goods, cleaning public areas (if necessary) and recruiting new members and volunteers.  Administrative help is also required.  A professional attitude is essential because the centres are run as businesses.  A minimum commitment of two days a month, preferably from 0900 to 1700hrs is required.

Working with the Education Officers as assistants with school groups at centres or in schools on term-time weekdays (mainly primary but with some secondary schools).

Working with the Education Officers as assistants with 8-11 year old young people on Family Nature Days during school holidays and weekends.

Please note that if you are working with young or vulnerable people, you will be required to complete a CRB check. 

To answer the telephones and route calls to the appropriate person.

To ‘stuff’, stamp and address envelopes (and sometimes post them) as requested by a member of staff.

To assist with typing letters, newsletters, leaflets etc.

To do long-run photocopying and collating.

To assist with filing, archiving and photo archive management.

To undertake all, or some of the following:

Painting and decorating the centres inside and out.

Electrical work (must be qualified)

Carpentry and repairs.

Plumbing work (must be qualified)

Vehicle inspections.

To give talks about the Trust or a chosen topic (plants, animals, insects, birds for example) to audiences in the county who have requested a Trust speaker.

To use the opportunity to recruit new members and/or volunteers.

To help organise and assist with the running of events for young members of the local Wildlife Watch group which will stimulate their interest in wildlife.

It will be necessary to prepare and run a half day event for children every two months and to join with other groups occasionally.

A CRB check is necessary for this post.

To record the flora and fauna of Reserves as requested by the Warden, or Conservation Staff or according to your interest or to record the flora and fauna of the wider countryside as requested by the Conservation Staff.

(Residential Full time—One week)

Please see Skomer Island voluntary assistant wardens for further information and an application form.

The position of volunteer warden on Skomer Island is to assist with practical conservation work, keep records of daily sightings, assist with building maintenance, managing day visitors to the island, fundraising and recruiting members

Volunteering is for one to  two full weeks, Saturday to Saturday between April 1st to October 31st.

To serve as a Committee member who as well as attending meetings usually help with tasks such as fundraising, local publicity, membership recruitment, helping the Trust respond to planning issues and organising local events.  There is a Local Group in each district. As well as the committee members who share the work as a team the following positions are also elected and these involve more responsibility:

A Chairperson - who is responsible for ensuring that the Local Group follows the constitution, promotes the Trust in an appropriate manner and is dynamic.  The Chairperson is also the contact point between Trust staff and officers, local institutions and the public.

A Secretary - who is responsible for preparing and mailing the minutes of meeting, for distributing incoming mail, and for giving the Chairperson any clerical support required.

A Treasurer - who is responsible for entering payments and donations in the cash book, for keeping all receipts as evidence of payments, for reconciling the cash book with the Local Group bank account, for producing an income and expenditure account each year which is approved by the Local Group Committee and used by the Trust Treasurer, and for sending a copy of the Local Group bank statements to the Trust Finance Office.