Do you live in the south or west Wales area? Are you interested in marine conservation or the heritage/history of the Welsh coast? We’re looking for passionate volunteers to join our Living Seas team and to help us to help our seas.

“We need an army of people who love the sea and understand that there is no life without water” – Jacques Yves Cousteau

Volunteering is a fantastic opportunity for you to make a positive contribution to marine conservation, meet new people who share your interests and experience Wales’ amazing marine life!

Living Seas Wales Volunteers can take part in or organise research and outreach activities in their local area, attend events including the Living Seas Live! Roadshow (set locations) or volunteer from home.

Volunteer activities include –

• Conducting marine and coastal surveys
• Helping with community outreach events e.g. talks, rock pooling and wildlife walks
• Collecting, archiving and digitising historical records relating to welsh coastal/marine wildlife
• Engaging with and inspiring the public through our Living Seas Live! Roadshow
• Taking part in marine advocacy campaigns and much more

Volunteers living locally to New Quay can be based at the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, and can also help to run our busy visitor centre (March-Nov).

YOU DON’T NEED A BACKGROUND IN SCIENCE TO BECOME INVOLVED! Full training and support will be provided by our living seas staff and existing volunteers.

Interested? We’re hosting a volunteer taster session on Saturday 22^nd September, 10:30am-1pm at our centre in New Quay. Come along to find out how you can become involved and to try out a mini dolphin watch and beach clean.

For more information and to book a place on the taster session please contact Laura on volunteer@cbmwc.org or 01545 560224.

For over 15 years the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre have been tackling marine litter on New Quay’s beaches and the surrounding area. The dedicated Living Seas Team of staff and volunteers, host regular community litter picks and conduct beach cleans daily throughout the summer months.

Since 2011 the team have been recording the amount of litter collected, categories include plastic, cigarette butts, glass, rope/fishing gear, polystyrene and much more. During this time volunteers have spent over 950 hours collecting a staggering 157,736 pieces of litter which has included over 50,000 pieces of plastic! Click here to see more of our beach clean stats.

To kick start 2018, Year of The Sea in Wales, we asked the local community to join us for a beach clean. Over 50 volunteers attended the event helping to collect 25 rubbish filled bags from the three beaches in New Quay! If you would like to join our Living Seas Team for a beach clean we are running monthly clean ups over 2018, please visit our website or Facebook page for more details.

You can also make a difference by making a few small changes to reduce your use of single-use plastic. Click here to see our top tips for cutting out plastic.