The RSPB Community

A volunteer’s tale! - at Titchwell's Cafe

Sallie Crawley — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:34:00 GMT

A volunteer’s tale! My name is Rosie, and for some years I’ve been one of Titchwell’s volunteers. Titchwell Reserve which is the toast Of Birders to the Norfolk coast. So visit us, do come and see us ladies in the servery. We’re all a very friendly bunch, Sit down, relax, enjoy your lunch, or Tea; a scone (homemade) with jam and cream. But maybe not a dieter’s dream! Our customers, a smashing crew, some days a flood, some days...(read more)

Volunteering on RSPB Reserve Cafes - THE exciting place to volunteer if you love good food and Nature!

Sallie Crawley — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:53:00 GMT

Don't fancy volunteering outdoors? There are plenty of roles for volunteers to help out in RSPB reserve cafes. We have reserves throughout the UK and we are always in need of extra help… in roles that you might not immediately associate with volunteering for the RSPB! There is always a need for bird experts or complete novices, for people looking to enhance their CVs and for people with a little bit of time on their hands. So, whatever your age and experience, there is a role for you...(read more)

Fundraise for wildlife – Can you help us pin it up?

Sallie Crawley — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:55:00 GMT

We have many volunteers involved in the RSPB’s pin badge scheme who make sure that all our badges are displayed in shops all around the UK. So it’s no surprise that the public are coming across the badges and wanting to use them for parties, schools, weddings and funerals. This is great news as we are more likely to receive the full £1 suggested donation on these requests. We have now had nearly 100 wedding favour orders in the past two years and all of these have been put together...(read more)

Fundraise for wildlife – with events become one of our team!

Sallie Crawley — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:20:00 GMT

If you would like to be part of our local volunteer fundraising teams, we have activities that you can do all year round, or for just two hours once a year. If you'd like to go one step further and get your adrenaline rush while fundraising for us, how about a bungee jump, skydiving, or abseiling? Pulse-quickening activities are great ways to raise awareness of nature and our work - and great ways to raise sponsorship funds. If you've got the nerve to do it, we can give you all the...(read more)

Fundraise for wildlife – how you can help!

Sallie Crawley — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:14:00 GMT

Every year, the fantastic energy and enthusiasm of supporters like you help us raise over £1.5m of donations to help nature and wildlife. Whether you'd like to fundraise alone, with friends or with colleagues, or whether you're a teacher or business owner, we can offer a host of fundraising ideas and activities. Some fundraisers have done physical activities like running a marathon or swimming the channel. If you want to follow in their footsteps and you have your own place then...(read more)

Find out what inspires people to volunteer as youth leaders .... the feel good factor

Sallie Crawley — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:26:00 GMT

In my last blog we told you about what our children get out of their involvement with the RSPB and our youth groups. This time we asked our volunteers ‘what inspired you to become a youth leader?” Read on to find out what they had to say ..... If our volunteers make you feel inspired yourself then please visit our volunteering pages and check out our current vacancies www.rspb.org.uk/volunteering . If you have volunteered with children please do leave some comments and share with...(read more)

What do children get out of a Wildlife Explorer or Phoenix Group?

Sallie Crawley — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Children and young people are inherently curious about the world around them, and for many that includes nature. That interest is fanned by experience, the more direct and frequent the better. As children become progressively more urban and biodiversity becomes more restricted to protected areas, children’s opportunities to experience, understand and care for nature become ever more limited. Children today are only allowed to roam 50m from their home, compared with 800m 20 years ago, so will...(read more)

Date with Nature – St Albans Herons 2013

Rhoda Ludford — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:40:00 GMT

We have a guest blog this week from Carol Waller, one of our Date with Nature volunteers, last week she volunteered for the first time at a Date With Nature event in Verulamium Park, St Albans; “My role involved talking to visitors about the herons in the park and helping them use our telescopes. The first pair of herons nested in the park in 1990 and since then numbers have gradually increased. Fortunately the birds do not seem to be unduly disturbed by the presence of humans. Located in...(read more)

Volunteers, an essential element of Date with Nature

Sallie Crawley — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 01:00:00 GMT

Love is in the air! What would be your ideal date with nature? Dates with Nature are a great opportunity for the RSPB to connect people with nature, where they live, work and play. From glimpses of basking sharks in Cornwall to puffins on Shetland there are events across the whole of the UK. The ever-popular birds of prey events have been joined by water voles, badgers, bats, seals and, soon, dolphins helping introduce the public to a wide selection of nature. Most Dates with Nature still feature...(read more)

What's your new year's resolution?

Rhoda Ludford — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 10:04:57 GMT

Andy Hay (rspb-images.com) What's your new year's resolution? By the time the last few Brussels have been eaten and we can’t stand the site of another mince pie, I am already struggling with my inner willpower to stick to my chosen promises for the new year (again!). So this time round I’m picking things that will move me towards my goals in bite sized chunks, don’t take longer than 5 minutes and won’t take willpower of planetary proportions to help me achieve them...(read more)

Are you thinking about a reserve based career in conservation?

Sallie Crawley — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 09:45:00 GMT

So you want to get involved but don’t have the experience? Well look no further volunteer internships are the solution! There are practical placements and placements involving our visitor and education work. 99% of previous Residential Volunteer Interns have gone to employment in the conservation sector; with the RSPB or another conservation organisation. All our volunteering internships have a built in training programme with career coaching. One year long Residential Volunteer Internships...(read more)

Calling All Champions

Sallie Crawley — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 11:39:00 GMT

Its been just over a year since the RSPB launched its Campaign Champions programme, which aims to mobilise people to step up, campaign and take action for wildlife. In this time over 200 people in over 130 constituencies have registered as campaigners to help support and protect the wildlife they love. Campaigning is at the hear of the RSPB and it really does make a difference. It’s something we’ve been doing since 1889, when Emily Williamson started campaigning to ban the barbaric...(read more)

Pagham Blog - Father, visitor, volunteer, co-ordinator. Why does Roger love Pagham?

Rhoda Ludford — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:51:23 GMT

Falling in love with Pagham by volunteer co-ordinator Roger Johnson I’m not sure when I first fell in love with Pagham Harbour but it was certainly more than 20 years ago when I was bringing up my then young son as a single parent. Although very much a townie, I’ve always loved the countryside and I was keen to give Dan the chance to share my enthusiasm. We became regular visitors both at weekends and during the school holidays. Gradually as he grew older, he developed other interests...(read more)

Pagham Blog - " from volunteer to site manager" by Rob Carver

Rhoda Ludford — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:36:00 GMT

This months' guest volunteering blogs come from the beautiful Sussex coast as Rob Carver tells us what volunteering at Pagham Harbour means to him.... Many years ago (I won’t say quite how many!) I worked as a volunteer on my local waterway – a site particularly rich in rare wildlife and popular with the public. It’s a time I look back on with great fondness and it kick-started my career in conservation. I was able to bring my own skills to promoting the work here while...(read more)

More from our local group volunteers .....

Sallie Crawley — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:45:00 GMT

Further to my colleague Josie's blog i thought i would add a few more words from our amazing group volunteers. Paul Barrett from the Airedale & Bradford Local Group says "I never volunteered for anything. My work/life balance was just fine. That was before Ruth announced the imminent closure of our Local Group at one of our indoor meetings: there were not enough people to run the group. I enjoyed the talks and walks that the group organised so, along with a few others, volunteered...(read more)

Volunteers win RSPB's top award for their time and talents

Rhoda Ludford — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:59:00 GMT

Congratulations to this year’s winners of the prestigious RSPB President’s Awards which were presented at the Society’s AGM in London on Saturday 6th October. The RSPB President’s Award is our chance to recognise those volunteers who have made an outstanding contribution to the work of the RSPB. In effect it is the RSPB’s equivalent of a volunteering “Oscar” and we only give out six each year!. Here is the low down on this year’s winners: ...(read more)

Looking to make a difference? Look no further than your Local Group!

Josie Fowler — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:59:00 GMT

I remember being blown away when I first found out about the amazing contribution that Local Groups make to the RSPB. Local Groups are spread all across the UK, working in their local areas to promote and support the work of the RSPB. I’m always impressed by how much a group of like-minded people can achieve through working together to support nature conservation. Local Groups organise events, talks and field trips for people in their local area, and raise money through fundraising activities...(read more)

Buckets of Love!

Rhoda Ludford — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:46:00 GMT

Many thanks to all of you who helped make Love Nature Week a great success this year. Over 600 of you stepped up and donated almost 2,200 hours of your time to take part in our street bucket collection. You collected over £35,600 in total! That’s fantastic news for wildlife. All the money raised is being spent in the region it was collected, helping the nature near you that needs it most. Anyone can take part in a bucket collection – all you need is a big smile, just like...(read more)

The story of a lady bird and a bat Stepping Up for Nature!

Rhoda Ludford — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:51:00 GMT

Interested in helping The RSPB with their Together for Trees collection? Gabrielle Layzell let us know what its like holding a collection bucket... The first time we collected for the RSPB, we thought it would be a good idea to dust off the fancy dress, we hoped this would attract attention and help bring in more donations. I dressed up as a bat and my friend Kat went for the lady bird look. We’d already received our fundraising kits in the post. This provided us with everything we...(read more)

Doing bird and building boxes ...

Sallie Crawley — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:36:06 GMT

Kent prisoners ‘step up’ and make homes for tree sparrows Inmates from HM Prison, Rochester, stepped up for nature by building 50 new tree sparrow nest boxes as part of a project to save some of the last populations of tree sparrows in South East England. Glen Routledge, Gardens Parties Supervisor from HMP Rochester said, “ We have taken the job on to give the offenders a purposeful activity and to enable them to put something back into society as a part of our Bio-Diversity...(read more)

Are you thinking about a career in conservation?

Sallie Crawley — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 08:23:00 GMT

It’s not just about internships on our reserves! Throughout the year you will find many different volunteer intern opportunities offered to enable you to gain experience, skills and behaviours that can assist you develop and create the potential for your dream job. Not only do you receive on the job training but mentoring and career coaching too - so why not make the most of it and get involved with us. Two volunteer interns from our South Eastern Regional Office had this to say...(read more)

How stepping up for nature can build your team!

Sallie Crawley — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 08:29:00 GMT

Why not get your employer involved with us and help your staff to learn new skills and step up for nature with the RSPB. Team challenges build team-working skills and by taking part in a team challenge, you can make a difference to wildlife conservation work whilst working as a team and having fun. An RSPB Team Challenge is a chance for employees to have a novel and memorable day out and apply team working away from the office. Your team will join regular RSPB staff at one of our nature...(read more)

RSPB volunteers step-up at BBC Gardeners' World Live

Rhoda Ludford — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:37:27 GMT

At Gardeners’ World Live, The Royal Horticultural Society provided our RSPB events team with a large space, free of charge; on the condition we produce an attractive, educational feature. Visitors were fascinated by the swallow facts displayed and were keen to Step up for Nature thanks to our Homes for Wildlife examples. With the help of a fantastic team of extremely talented, creative, and enthusiastic volunteers we set about recreating part of the world, including an English cottage garden...(read more)

Tropical Forests - Getting involved internationally with the RSPB

Sallie Crawley — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:36:00 GMT

Tropical forests are home to 6 million species, including some of the world's most enigmatic and endangered wildlife. They provide food, water and medicines, and act as carbon stores to help in the fight against climate change. But tropical forests are in trouble. Every four seconds an area the size of a football pitch is chopped down for commercial gain. We have spent more than 20 years working alongside our BirdLife partners to protect these amazing places and we've had some great...(read more)

Bucket BBQ anyone?

Dana — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:00:00 GMT

After many weeks of preparation, Love Nature Week 2012 kicks off today! And it’s the weather glorious for it? We’ve got buckets of sunshine, and sunshine coloured buckets. It’s all set to be a fantastic fundraising event. In the Midlands 74 volunteers will be heading out into the sun this weekend to shake a bucket. I’m a little concerned that I will be wearing a monkey costume at my collection in Morrisons today. Is an all-in-one fleece suit really a good idea in 25 degrees...(read more)