So are you interested? Do you want to know more? Here are the some of the existing roles and the volunteers that undertake them ....
In our Eastern England region we have:
Ian Shakespeare who is a Fire Safety Advisor His line manager, Dave Bingham said about this about him: Ian has visited several sites to advise on fire safety in this region and more widely around other regions. He also attended one of our national meetings and commented on our fire safety CoP. He offers valuable professional advice in specialist areas. The professional support we get isn’t about time but value because we couldn’t afford to buy in this level of advice.
Ian says: I was a fire-fighter for 32 years and since my retirement 7 years ago have been working as a specialist consultant in the UK fire industry. I have been an RSPB volunteer for over 7 years and feel that this enables me to give ‘something back’ specifically to the Society and indirectly to the world of nature. It enables me to use my skills as a specialist fire consultant to give advice to enable the Society to save hard earned monies which in turn enables them to utilise these monies directly to benefit to nature. It is often possible to safely meet UK fire regulations without spending vast amounts of money as some fire industry contractors would have you believe! It also enables me to visit some beautiful places and without exception RSPB people are very nice people indeed!
Glenn Davies who is a Health & Safety Advisor, Dave said this about him: Glenn has advised on asbestos issues and joined us at a national H&S meeting to discuss asbestos management. He also gets samples analysed for us. He also assisted me in producing a manual handling presentation for delivery at site level. Glenn also commented on our draft asbestos management CoP.
Glen says: Having worked for many years in industry as a Health and Safety professional, it has been a fantastic experience using my knowledge and skills to help the RSPB. As a former ‘YOC’ member many years ago, it felt like a privilege to give something back. My work for the RSPB includes the development of a short, half hour, manual handling training programme for the Reserve Managers to use when inducting new short term volunteers or part time shop assistants. Further contributions include advice and sampling service for asbestos related issues with buildings or groundwork’s. Working as a volunteer for the RSPB has been a very enjoyable and satisfying experience and only wish my current work/lifestyle would allow me to do more, but remember, any contribution large or small will be greatly appreciated.
At The Lodge, the UK Headquarters we have:
Adele Jagucki says, I am a volunteer physiotherapist on the Medical Advisory Panel. Whenever a volunteer applies for a post at the RSPB with a medical condition or on complex medication, I receive an email asking for my opinion on whether it is safe for that person to carry out that particular role that they have applied for. I also give advice on what adjustments can be made, or what precautions to take. I undertake this role, as I would like to ensure anyone is not disadvantaged from undertaking volunteering because of a medical condition, or medication, if I can give advice to enable them to undertake the role. The conservation work that the RSPB undertakes is very important to me, and I feel privileged to be able to help the organisation in any way possible.
Philip Plummer who was volunteering as Procurement Advisor: We were looking for someone with procurement experience to undertake a procurement analysis exercise. Maybe having worked for an organisation in a role that encompasses purchasing, contract and supplier management.
The RSPB has a network of over 200 nature reserves, 20 regional and country offices.. Whilst we encourage staff to support the local communities in which they work, we also seek to maximise our purchasing power and minimise the administrative burden of managing numerous suppliers. We have limited centralised purchasing at the UK Headquarters and were seeking help to analyse current procurement practice and identify where cost or efficiency improvements can be made. A report on the findings and recommendations was made to our Management Board.
In Scotland:
Graffiti-light birds promote fun run. Sally Fisher, Grants Officer, is managing the fun run in her spare time. The graffiti-light birds is just one of the ways she is raising awareness of the run to encourage more participants.
Near the end of March, a group of volunteers gathered on the beach in Edinburgh to paint birds using torches as brushes and the darkness as a canvas.
The unique image was captured using slow exposure photography, to promote the upcoming Flight of Fancy five kilometre fun run.
Our Midland Region has the following:
At Langford we have a volunteer, Dave Watt, who is a trained cabinet maker and has done lots of woodworking jobs for us using his skills. He has built us a custom-made tool storage rack, display boards for interpretation at our viewing screen, a binocular storage box for our 15 pairs of binoculars that are used on guided walks and is soon to start on a project to build a table and benches in our newly-renovated beach hut which will provide a base for volunteers and somewhere to meet and greet the public on guided walks.
We also have two volunteers, John Ellis and Julie Straw, who do a lot of bird survey work for us, they are specialist birders with very detailed knowledge. They contribute to the annual Breeding Bird Survey, getting out on site early in the morning and mapping all the birds they see and hear during their visit and help with the monthly Wetland Bird Survey, which involves counting and recording all the wetland birds that use the site. This requires a lot of bird identification skill by both sight and sound.
So you want to get involved and step up for nature, then visit www.rspb.org.uk/volunteering and find out more!
No matter what you think you are, you are always and in all ways so much more!