Conservation Officer (Wildlife Surveyor Telford & Wrekin area)

Your help is needed to coordinate and complete weekly or monthly surveys of sites in the local area.

We require a number of volunteers with identification skills and knowledge of species. This includes, plantlife, invertebrates, trees, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians or any other specialism. You should ideally have some experience and knowledge of wildlife surveying techniques.

The data collected is not only used on a national scale to inform UK strategy, but can be used locally to inform best practice on urban green sites such as parks, cemeteries, local woodlands, wetlands and amenity areas.

Surveys are essential for collating data about various species to monitor population trends and help inform the science behind our work. This science could contribute to site management planning, informing site management decisions, engaging with the community, and helping to influence internal and external organisations to be more sustainable and ecologically aware.

We are Business Conservation Advice at the RSPB and we work with business partners across the UK including this opportunity which falls under the idverde partnership. idverde maintain hundreds of hectares of urban green landscapes across the UK including locally to here. This is done under a contract with the local authority. The sites that are managed have a great deal to offer for biodiversity gain, but first we need to know what is present: this is where our volunteer Biodiversity Surveyors help.

The role will include:

• Surveying an agreed wildlife species on a regular, ad-hoc or one-off basis during set times of the year within pairs or groups.
• Input surveying data to a database or submitting it for another individual to input.
• Contributing to RSPB & idverde comms regarding survey data and experiences
• Engagement with local Friends of Groups
• Feedback to inform advisory work
• Administration, organising, planning, attention to detail.

The role would suit those who are studying ecology, are working in or retired from an ecology background, have an avid interest in specific flora and fauna and wish to enhance their knowledge and help increase biodiversity in their local areas. There is also a social element as surveys are conducted in pairs or groups, so the opportunity exists to share knowledge and best practice within the RSPB community.

There is the possibility of training, although the preference for candidates is that you have a good knowledge of UK species with a specialism or great deal of knowledge on specific types.

• IT skills, creating documents, managing spreadsheets, submitting records.
• Excellent communication skills for engaging with different audiences, internal and external to the RSPB.
• Organisational skills.
• Specific skills will be required for what species are being monitored/surveyed. For example, bird ID skills would be required for breeding bird surveys.
• Ability to work independently and also in a small team.