The next morning a crack team of keen Old Hall volunteers were assembled to assist our RSPB colleagues at Wat Tyler Country Park in Pitsea, South Essex. We set about loading the truck with all the necessary equipment and after much head scratching and...

When Springtime comes around? It seems strange to be talking about March already but here in the Residential Volunteering Office the preparation has begun for the latest round of recruits for the Residential Volunteering Internship programme. All around...

3.6 billion seconds a year, 61 million minutes a year count it how you like 2010/11 was a really great year for volunteering at the RSPB.  Why? Because our volunteers gave the RSPB a gift of time of over 1 million hours.  Yes you read that right, 1 million...

My daughter already has her Christmas gift list in circulation, and many people are crossing off what they are going to be giving her this year. I am sure that it’s not going to leave much for Santa to fill her stocking with as despite the recession...

I need to volunteer more to help make me more healthy and get rid of my cold! Or at least help stop them from happening. Waking up this morning with a cold and full head with two small children who have just come through it (thanks kids!) I am reminded...

After watching Sallie blog away happily I have finally dared to dip my toe in, be brave and post something!. Here is some news from the busy Residential Team at The Lodge; Jane and Kate. Having been on the Loch Garten Osprey Project with the Residential...

After my excursion to Norwich and mountain biking in Suffolk at the weekend I was back at Old Hall surveying, raking and brushcutting.

Monday was a long day as we were having problems with a cow that couldn’t comprehend she was feeding twins not just...

Now we’re stepping up for nature as a family! Eleanor and I have just registered to take part in WildSquare, my idea of micro volunteering for kids.

As a busy mum, working full time – in fact I have two jobs, I rarely get to spend quality time...

Every now and then over the past six months I'm sure you've been asked to Step Up for Nature. It may have passed you by but I bet many of you have taken steps without even knowing it.

Well, I’m thrilled to be able to tell you that in that time...

Wanted ........ your support for our local groups in their communities ......

The top story on the staff RSPB intranet is encouraging people to get voting for various RSPB projects that have put themselves forward for £6,000 from Natwest Communityforce...

More about some wonderful ideas our groups have had to enable them to Step Up for Nature ……

A million calories for nature
Earlier this year a group of volunteers who regularly help out with practical conservation work at our RSPB Farnham...

I've always loved birds and nature. I grew up in East Sussex and was lucky enough to live on a small holding with acres of space and lots of wildlife. I can remember as a child camping out in the garden just so I could hear the dawn chorus. I joined the...

On a bright Saturday morning it is time to head to Chelmsford and set up our stand at the Chelmsford Biodiversity Forum event. It is important that we can encourage local people to participate in conservation and be aware of the great biodiversity we...

The RSPB is not rich and we depend on the generosity of members of the public for financial support – and the funds raised by local groups are vital. Over the last 30 years, they have raised over £5m for conservation.

Many of them have well...

Now that is a question and a half! The role of a local group is broad ranging and as I mentioned in my previous blog they all have their own personality and excel in different areas. They all step up for nature in various way and here are a couple of...

I am astounded and amazed at the contribution to the work of the RSPB that the local group network makes. A community group of like-minded, passionate people getting together and really making a difference where it counts.

They are spread up and down the UK and each group has it’s own personality. By this I mean that they undertake different activities for their membership. This being said they all share the same objectives…

www.youtube.com/watch

Volunteering for any charity creates a real sense of fulfilment. With the knowledge that the work you are undertaking is helping the community, you get a great feeling of achievement, no matter how large or small your project is. Having volunteered for Cancer Research UK previously, on a regular basis, I know just how much fun it can be. However despite all this, before starting my project with…

We’ve just launched two exciting, brand new volunteer roles, where we are asking you to step up and become RSPB campaign champions to help support our local and national campaigns and give nature a much louder voice.

Campaigning is at the heart of the RSPB. It’s something we’ve been doing since 1889, when a lovely lady called Emily Williamson from Didsbury, Manchester started campaigning to ban the barbaric feather…

We were handed a great opportunity to watch this particular migrant, a wheatear from inside the truck.  Tom and I sat for ages watching this marvellous bird happily feeding on an abundance of insects.  

A very un-camera shy wheatear

Old Hall Marshes was unusually experiencing a frenzy of human activity after well founded reports of a wryneck had been called in. News spread rapidly amongst the Old Hall birders.

Once again .... Mini moments make mountains out of mole hills!

So what is this micro volunteering all about?  Each small action that a person takes can make a momentous difference when combined with a massive amount of people also doing that activity.

Good grief how many M’s have I used so far!

Having had a quick “Google” around there are many definitions of micro volunteering, from the i-volunteer site I found…

Staying healthy, getting fitter and volunteering with the RSPB!

Getting into the countryside is recognised as a natural way to a healthier lifestyle. A recent report commissioned by the RSPB stresses that moderate exercise, including walking and nature conservation activities can help to prevent heart disease, strokes, depression and sleep problems.

The RSPB has over 16,700 people who already volunteer with the Society…

The first week in June was Volunteers’ Week and what a wonderful time was had by all. Rhoda Ludford arranged a thank you event for the volunteers based, here at our UK Headquarters, to have a wonderful day out.

First we boarded a coach that took us to Lakenheath Fen, this reserve was once mostly carrot fields. Like many fenland sites, its wetlands had been lost to agriculture centuries before. Since 1995, however…

September brought very mixed feelings for me, on the one hand I was sad to leave Old Hall Marshes, but on the other, I was really looking forward to beginning a new challenge at the RSPB reserve at Minsmere. There was a lot to cram into the month, with new surveys carried out, existing projects to be finalised, handover notes written for the new volunteers as well as completing the usual weekly reserve tasks.  Unfortunately…

Throughout August, water has been extracted from Pennyhole Bottom using a diesel pump. Normally the water body dries out naturally through evaporation but this year we have had to give nature a helping hand. A major food source for avocets and other waders is the chironomid larvae and by draining the water the chironomid non avian predators are killed off, assisting the growth of the chironomid population once the water…

We are always keen to hear what our volunteers think about volunteering with the RSPB, what you like, what you don’t like and what we could make even better. 

If you are a volunteer with us watch out for an email popping in to your inbox on the 3^rd of June.  Hold off hitting that delete button and have a read of it.  We’d love you to be able to spare some time to tell us exactly what you think about volunteering…