Volunteers with us
How can I get involved?
There are plenty of opportunities to help improve East Mercia region’s rivers in the catchments and their waterways. Whether you are an individual, a club, a school or a company, large or small, we can all play a part. EMRT has a variety of volunteer positions that can meet a range of needs. By becoming a Welland Warden or Witham Guardian you can make a difference and either build career experience, improve your health and well-being or just meet new people, get outdoors and have some fun.
What can I do?
Invasive Species and Wildlife Surveying – If you regularly walk alongside local waterways you could be just the person we need to monitor and record invasive plant species such as floating pennywort or Himalayan balsam or even survey for signs of our amazing freshwater wildlife e.g., Trout redds (spawning sites) or signs of water voles.
Water Quality Monitoring – Water quality is key to a healthy aquatic environment, being able to pinpoint any pollution source is vital for the health of our rivers. You will be provided with training and equipment to enable you to measure nutrient and sediment pollution and help us monitor water quality.
Riverfly Monitoring – A national scheme for protecting the biological health of our watercourses by monitoring and recording river flies. Free training will be given, and all equipment provided. We hope that you can commit to approximately one hour, once a month for 12 months.
Habitat Work Party Volunteers – Often our projects can give an opportunity to engage in a one-off day or several days activities. This could be planting wildflowers, installing in-channels improvements or clearing sites.
Events and Engagement – Family events, country shows and education sessions with local schools or community groups are perfect opportunities to engage with and enthuse children and adults alike about their local watercourse and the varied wildlife it supports. We are often invited to exhibit at shows, so volunteers are more than welcome to join us!
Photographer – Are you a keen photographer, could you help support our communication and marketing by providing images of our waterways? If so, we would love to hear from you.
Environmental Education – We are keen to engage and inspire the next generation about their local watercourses and the wildlife they support. We are looking for volunteers to help with our education sessions both in the classroom setting and out on the riverbank. No experience needed – just a passion for environmental education. Training will be provided, please note: this role may require a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS).
Roving Ranger – whether walking your dog, fishing, ambling, rambling, you can still play your part. In fact, we can all be Roving Rangers, by using our senses when walking and share what we’ve seen in our catchments, whether it’s wildlife, plants, invasive species or something that does look/smell/sound or just feel right. It may be nothing, or it may be a new species! Or it may be a pollution event that needs our attention to redress.
Spreading the Word – working from home and in your place, talking about your love for our rivers, sharing your experience across the years and encouraging those able to get involved in any way possible.
If there is a skill that you think might help EMRT, then get in touch with us at admin@eastmercia.org
