We need volunteers to help us survey everything on our Nature Reserves, including butterflies, birds, bats, otters, flowers and much more.
Survey Force
Survey Force is our team of wildlife recording volunteers, who help us to monitor what fantastic wildlife we have on our reserves.
All levels of experience and expertise are welcome. If you are new to wildlife recording then please don’t worry this is a great opportunity for those with little or no experience as full training is provided.
We will continue to collect valuable information about the plants and animals on our reserves to make sure we are looking after them in the best possible way for wildlife.
We’re also adding some new surveys to the timetable to further improve our knowledge. We will be carrying out a a range of surveys such as:
• Invertebrate surveys (including Butterflies and Dragonflies)
• Bird surveys
• Other protected animal species.
Survey Force runs from April to October (see the Survey Force Schedule), led by our Senior Conservation Specialist. We leave Brandon Marsh Nature Centre on alternative Mondays at 10am and return by 4.30pm latest. You can of course meet us on site or if you can’t make the whole day, feel free to join us just for the morning or afternoon. Please let us know in advance if you are planning on joining us and if you are going from Brandon or meeting on site, so that we can tailor the activities depending on who’s coming and for how long. Please bring identification guides if you have them.
Have a read of our Survey Volunteer Profile.
Wildlife Species Surveys
For those with a little more experience there is also the opportunity to carry out surveys independently on one or more of our reserves depending on how much time you would like to give. The survey season is usually March to September depending on the species.
We also have links with specialist recording groups in the county, such as the Warwickshire Flora Group or Butterfly Conservation for those who are keen to survey specific species.
Please contact Alexis Evans on 024 7630 2912 or at alexis.evans@wkwt.org.uk if you are interested in any of these
Princethorpe Woodlands Living Landscape Surveyors
The PWLL scheme has recently received the go-ahead from Heritage Lottery for a £1.2million delivery of projects across the scheme area on sites including meadows, ancient woodlands and hedgerows. As a result, there will be a range of exciting new volunteering opportunities from May 2017. As a volunteer, you could assist the staff team with habitat surveys, species work, practical habitat work and data input and analysis. If you would like to get involved, please contact chris.redstall@wkwt.org.uk.
Solihull Hedgehog Garden Survey Volunteers
We are looking for volunteers in and around Solihull to take part in survey work for the UK's first Hedgehog Improvement Area. Options for volunteers include having mammal survey tunnels in their own gardens with the possibility to borrow camera traps from the Trust (provided that they live within Solihull Metropolitan Borough), checking mammal survey tunnels for hedgehog footprints, and engaging the local community in taking action for hedgehogs in their gardens. If you are interested in helping with this project, please contact simon.thompson@wkwt.org.uk.
Otters, Water Voles and Mink
The Trust have a team of dedicated volunteers who survey the county (including non-Trust sites) for otters, water voles and American mink. Some experience on how to survey for these mammals is required. If you would like to get involved, we recommend coming along to one of our training workshops to find out more. These are usually held in spring and dates will be made available nearer the time.
If you think you have seen any of these animals, we would be grateful if you could spare a few minutes to report your sightings by completing this form.
Wildlife Recording Workshops
Each year we run a series of themed wildlife recording workshops, aimed at beginners to help get you started in wildlife identification and recording. More details can be found on our what's on page.
For a different kind of volunteer opportunity have a look at our Planning Volunteer Profile