Residential Volunteering: Live, work and breathe conservation

Exe Estuary Reserves are fortunate enough to have accommodation for volunteers. The house in Exminster is constantly inhabited by up to four volunteers. Placements last six months and attract people of all ages from all over the country. The placement provides the opportunity to increase practical conservation skills and bird and other wildlife knowledge. The RSPB also fund the training that is required to work on the reserve, for example, chainsaw and quad bike training. Many of the volunteers go on to paid work for the RSPB like Lyndsey who went on to become Assistant Warden at Elmley Marshes in Kent.

Exminster currently houses four volunteers; Tom, Ed, Gen and David. Tom has volunteered on Aylesbeare Common for six months. In the summer David is employed by the RSPB to monitor terns on a Skerry Island. Ed and Gen graduated from Southampton University last year. They make a pretty invincible team, led by Rich (Reserve Assistant), and in the short time they've been here they have:

• Reconstructed the viewing platform at Bowling Green Marshes from where you get great views of avocets and other wading birds feeding in the mud of the Exe Estuary.
• Constructed a fox proof fence on Powderham Reserve to protect breeding lapwing.
• Erected and fixed many a gate and fence on Exminster Marshes.
• Completed several bird counts but more often can be seen counting cows and recording water levels.
• Planted trees on hedge banks on Powderham Reserve and at Labrador Bay, a great place to see cirl buntings.
• Cleared scrub on Aylesbeare Common to maintain the heathland habitat required by nightjars and dartford warblers.
• Come second in the pub quiz at the Stowey Arms, Exminster.

I managed to catch up with Gen and Ed whilst they were having their lunch and sheltering from gale force winds in the workshop. I asked Ed what his best and worst moments have been so far. He said "The best moment was completing the fox proof fence after two months of continual work. The worst moment was spending my first day in a ditch pulling weeds. Especially as fell over at four times."

I asked Gen what it was like sharing a house with three men. She said "It's fun, there are always a lot of practical jokes being played." She added "However living with lots of boys is a bit smelly, especially after ditch clearing, and finding random buckets of invertebrates brought home by David can be a bit disconcerting!"

Gen and Ed have also enjoyed working with different people including children from the Topsham Rainbows (see previous blog) and some conservationists visiting from Hungary. All four volunteers are making the most of living in the westcountry and have a camping trip to Cornwall planned, go fishing and together as well as hiking on Dartmoor.

If you'd like to know more about residential volunteering see the RSPB Website for current vacancies in the UK.