Mother Nature’s helping hands

Achieving this is easier than you might think. Becoming a volunteer for a wildlife charity ticks many of these boxes. Much of their work is underpinned by the contributions of volunteers.

Okay, so you are not going to get rich, but it allows you to engage with nature while being a part of the amazing work our wildlife organisations carry out.

One of the most popular is mucking in and helping with the maintenance work around reserves, upgrading paths, pruning back undergrowth, coppicing trees and helping with planting.

Volunteers can help with observing and counting species, identifying what that little brown bird is that’s confusing the visitors, or leading wildlife walks around a site.

The beauty of being a wildlife volunteer is its flexibility – you can usually work for as little or as long as you like, be it one evening a week after work or a full day’s digging when the mood takes you.

For many, the key attraction is the sheer enjoyment of doing something totally different from the day job in a beautiful natural setting that is ultimately helping to preserve our natural heritage for future generations.

Wildlife enthusiast and retired teacher Bill Daniel, 63, started volunteering with Durham Wildlife Trust three years ago as he wanted to find a way of learning about his local environment.

He says the variety of the work is one of the key attractions about volunteering. He has worked on coppicing, drystone walling, scrub clearance and setting up a charcoal burner.

“I’ve learned a lot about the ecology and environment of my local area,” he says. “I’ve discovered that the area is particularly rich in limestone grassland which, with a bit of care, provides a fantastic habitat for a huge variety of species.

“The work is always interesting, you are always learning new skills. I prefer being outside to being sat behind a desk; volunteering really does tick a lot of boxes. You don’t have to be a man mountain – it’s do-able; you work at the level you feel comfortable with.”

The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) works with more than 600,000 volunteers each year, and the 47 Wildlife Trusts also rely on around 35,000 people giving up their time for free.

The RSPB, the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) and most other wildlife charities all have volunteering opportunities.

Tanya Perdikou, from The Wildlife Trusts, explains: “Land needs careful management to ensure it makes a good home for wildlife, and conservation volunteers – taking part in a huge range of activities – are an essential part of this management.

“One example might be coppicing – the thinning of tree branches to allow in more sunlight, so plants on the woodland floor can flourish. And it’s not just practical conservation skills that can be of benefit: organisational, IT, administrative or financial skills are valued too.”

The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) Contact [email protected]

The Wildlife Trusts, contact [email protected]

RSPB visit www.rspb.org.uk

Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT). For more information, visit www.wwt.org.uk