RW Volunteers

RUTLAND WATER NATURE RESERVE

a partnership between

Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust
and Anglian Water

THE VOLUNTEERS

Working indoors or outdoors, day-time or night-time, on the reserve or elsewhere, there are literally hundreds of people who contribute to the running of the nature reserve - and derive enormous pleasure, satisfaction and fulfilment from what they do.

It's all go at the Reception Desk in the Visitor Centre

Volunteers

Erecting a rabbit-proof fence around a newly coppiced area on Lax Hill - a beautiful morning and a beautiful place to work!

Every year tens of thousands of hours of volunteer time are recorded on the reserve.

Volunteering at Rutland Water is suitable for all age groups. Many students have passed their bronze, silver and gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards working on the reserve. Others are working to gain an NVQ Level 2 in Environmental Conservation. Many schools and colleges from Britain and Europe send students to Rutland Water for valuable conservation work experience. We can provide very basic accommodation and lots of varied training and experience

Tractor

Volunteers using the reserve's new tractor

Other volunteer activities include:

Breeding Bird Survey Wildfowl counting Fencing

Hide maintenance Assisting with educational visits General woodworking

Reception desks at visitor centres Bird ringing Cutting reed bed

Moth trapping Management committee Grass cutting

Working at the Bird Fair Tree surgery Monitoring Osprey nests

Monitoring bird boxes Other wildlife recording Entering conservation data on computer

Maintaining this web site

If you are interested in joining the team then please contact Julia Fisher-Robins or another member of staff. You can be sure of a very warm welcome.

Some pictures of volunteers at work and at play:

Removing willow from the reed bed	Lunch break	Erecting a platform for an Osprey nest
Ray Sykes, hedge-layer extraordinaire	Reception	Creating an extension to the reed-bed
The Christmas party	Laying a new path	Hide maintenance
Cleaning the hides	A new stock fence	Launching out
Coppicing on Boxing day	Chain-saw course	Charcoal burning
A new raft for the terns to nest on	Very young coppicers	Monitoring bird boxes
Sand-martin bank construction	Reed-bed maintenance	and ... making a faggot!