Volunteering

Practical conservation and survey work
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About volunteering for practical conservation and survey work

Volunteers erecting stock fence at Fairburn Ings
Get your feet wet on an RSPB reserve

If you enjoy the outdoors and like to be active, you can get directly involved in conservation work at your local RSPB reserve or help with bird surveys across the UK.

Join one of the teams of volunteers that work all over the UK and help to create, manage and monitor habitats for birds and other wildlife. 

Practical conservation

The work of volunteers is essential to the successful management of our reserves. In return for your time, you can learn more about wildlife and conservation, meet new friends, keep fit and watch your work benefiting the environment. 

You might be involved in:

  • building stock fences and new hides
  • clearing paths for visitors
  • creating ponds for natterjack toads and dragonflies
  • planting hedges to attract nesting songbirds
  • putting up and monitoring nestboxes.         

‘Working on my local reserve has given me the opportunity to make new friends, use my skills, give something back to the community and care for the environment at the same time. It gives me great satisfaction to know that generations will continue to see and share in the diversity of nature due to this work’.
John Boxall, volunteer at RSPB Otmoor nature reserve, Oxford

'It gives me great satisfaction to know that generations will continue to see and share in the diversity of nature due to my work.'

If you are interested in joining in, contact your local reserve for details of their voluntary work parties.

Survey work

Could you help us to monitor the birds in your area? 

There are many bird surveys for you to get involved in. For many of them you don’t need to know much about birds as we can give you training before you start.

One of our biggest surveys is the Volunteer & Farmer Alliance. Volunteers are paired up with local farmers to give a free survey of the birds on their farm. We can then give them information specific to their farm, so they can help birds that are declining.

If you would like to get involved in any of our surveys, look through our vacancies, or contact us.

'All you do is look for and map birds. There is no canvassing. Whatever happens, you will have seen areas not open to others and know that you have done something to help our feathered friends and a local farmer.'
Peter Clayton, volunteer for Volunteer & Farmer Alliance

What can I do?

Find volunteering opportunities near you

View opportunities

Last modified: 17 August 2006

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