Ever wondered what volunteering for RSPB England looks like? This Volunteers Week Maggie Swinfen, Volunteer Coordinator for the RSPB Planning Networks for Nature project (and self-proclaimed ‘career switcher’), shares her experiences and why she decided to get involved.
Hello, I’m Maggie Swinfen. I am a Volunteer Coordinator for the RSPB Planning Networks for Nature (PNFN) (more on that later…). In this role I am responsible for managing a team of volunteers who look after the network.
I am what is commonly known as a ‘career switcher’. Having worked, so far, in television as a production manager and most recently as a Head of Commissioning at a television charity where I commission programmes for the Deaf, I am now turning my lifetime passion for conservation and wildlife into the next stage of my career.
I knew that I needed to get more volunteering experience to gain real understanding of the sector, to increase my knowledge, to network and identify which of my skills are transferable. I was already volunteering as social media manager for a local nature reserve, and when I saw this RSPB role advertised, it felt like a good match for me. I was already an RSPB member and had met some inspirational people from the RSPB when I volunteered at the BirdLife International Congress in 2022. After chatting to Paul, my now line manager, who was very enthusiastic and persuasive, the project sounded new, intriguing, and important, so I signed up in December 2022.
Planning Networks for Nature is a pilot project which offers online spaces to support local communities to better protect and deliver for nature in their area. As this is a pilot project, we’re starting this off in Kent and Sussex, with separate online spaces for each of these areas:
Expertise, knowledge and resources are shared between community members, local groups and partner organisations (including The Woodland Trust and the local Wildlife Trusts), with the aim of building a network of empowered local campaigners that are taking action for nature via the planning system. This could include advice on how to make your voice heard within the planning process or how to influence local planning decisions and developments.
Image: The Kent Planning Network for Nature
I manage a small, but perfectly formed, team of five ‘RSPB Representatives’. They are a lovely bunch of volunteers who take a daily shift, logging onto the two Networks to check for comments and questions which might need responding to. The other partner organisations also respond to comments relevant to their areas of expertise and interest.
At the start of the project there was, of course, a lot of training and the need to create new content for the Networks as well as test how they worked. Now we are entering a second phase where we are exploring ways to increase membership and engagement. I meet regularly with my line manager and also with RSPB conservation leads for Kent and Sussex to develop new work for the team. For example we are currently working to help swifts in Sussex.
It's a really flexible role and my working pattern varies to suit all the other things I have going on. My television job is currently part-time, working three days a week, and I tend to put aside several hours on three other days a week to concentrate on this volunteering role, but some weeks there will be more and some less.
This is proving to be a great opportunity for me, I really feel a part of something and understand so much more about the RSPB’s work than I did when simply a member. I have made good use of the training available for all new volunteers, and as a Volunteer Coordinator I have access to a wealth of additional information, support and resources specific to my role. Most importantly I continue to meet inspirational fellow volunteers and staff who all care passionately about the work we are involved in. It both gives me hope for nature and hope each time I apply for a job. In our volunteer handbook it says: Nature needs us, it starts when people come together. Well I certainly need both people and nature, and volunteering at the RSPB is giving me connection to both.
To find out more about volunteering for the RSPB and to search for local and remote opportunities, visit the website here: https://bit.ly/VolunteerRSPB