Now published: CJS Focus on Volunteering in association with The Conservation Volunteers (TCV)

The lead article from TCV talks about the difference volunteers make to nature and wildlife and also the benefits that volunteers get from giving their time. They are of course the epitome of conservation volunteering. 

Many of your are on a journey to paid work in conservation, some of you will be struggling – it’s not easy. Get a boost from reading about Sarah Davis’s route in to rangering, you’ve guessed it – volunteering was involved. 

BBOWT have always welcomed volunteers but have recently decided that in order for people to care for the environment around them they need to feel more involved. The Trust has developed a Community Network to move this theory forwards. 

Maybe you already have a volunteer management system in place, this can vary from hand written contact cards to a full software programme – if you get volunteer management right, it can lead to better recruitment, retention & satisfaction. Find out more from the Founder of Volunteero

Edge Hill University encourages it’s students to volunteer whilst studying, both to gain experience in conservation but also to provide them with life skills. 

It’s a question that gets asked a lot ‘when the advice is to volunteer how do you live?’ Emma Parker is now a Ranger at Hopetoun House but it’s been a long and winding road to get there, find out how she did support herself. 

It’s always good to find out how people got to their job in conservation, it can give you ideas, inspiration and hope, Kent Wildlife Trust profile some of their staff for us. 

Work experience in the conservation sector is quite hard to come by, you can volunteer to get experience but what if you could work alongside a staff member and learn directly from them about all aspects of the job. Forestry England have been running Shadow Volunteer roles for years – it’s a great way to get a foot in the door. 

This bumper edition also carries voluntary vacancies, 80 of them, and adverts for work day opportunities, surveys, organisations and projects. 

Read it here