AWBC
Wild Life Trust
Anglian Water

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.

rECEPTION awbc

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:

Vols Willow

Removing willow from the reed bed

Lunch

Lunch break

Volunteers erect an Osprey platform

Erecting a platform for an Osprey nest

Ray Sykes hedgelaying

Ray Sykes, hedge-layer extraordinaire

 

Reception

Reception

Reedbed pulling

Creating an extension to the reed-bed

volunteers party

The Christmas party

Laying a new path

Laying a new path

 

Hide repair

Hide maintenance

The hide maintenance team

Cleaning the hides

 

Fencing near Lax Hill

A new stock fence

building a tern platform

Launching out

Coppicing

Coppicing on Boxing day

 

Chain-saw course

Chain-saw course

Charcoal burning

Charcoal burning

building a tern platform

A new raft for the terns to nest on

wildlife watch group coppicing

Very young coppicers

Monitoring bird boxes

Monitoring bird boxes

Sand-martin bank construction

Sand-martin bank construction

Reed-bed maintenance

Reed-bed maintenance

faggott making

and ... making a faggot!