About Lake Vyrnwy

Lake Vyrnwy is our hidden gem. Its landscape is a rich patchwork of moorland, meadows, woodland, ffridd, farmland and forestry which supports some of Wales’s rarest wildlife, is both home and workplace for a vibrant rural community, attracts over 200,000 visitors a year, and provides drinking water for thousands more.

At the heart of the Berwyn mountains, on the southern boundary of the Snowdonia National Park, Lake Vyrnwy sits in RSPB’s North Wales Moors Priority Landscape. The 10,000-hectare Vyrnwy estate is owned by Hafren Dyfrdwy and around half is managed, in partnership, by the RSPB for the benefit of wildlife at a landscape scale.

The role

Residential placement volunteers become a member of the reserve team working alongside our wardens.

During the winter, the role will involve assisting the wardens with the habitat and estate management across the reserve. This could involve all or any of: peatland restoration, INNS control, woodland management, coppicing, tree planting and nest box maintenance, hedge planting or laying, dry stone walling, footpath maintenance, hide and infrastructure maintenance.

In spring and summertime, the role switches focus to the surveying of our priority species, and vegetation and habitat condition later in the summer. Springtime monitoring includes: Grouse counts; nests monitoring of Hen Harriers, Merlin, Peregrine and Curlew; and surveying nest boxes for Pied Flycatcher. The rest of the summer comprises a variety of botanical and habitat condition surveys throughout the reserve’s meadows, woodland, ffridd and moorland. Data collecting during these surveys is digitised, mapped, and analysed throughout the season.

Throughout the year, placement volunteers will also assist with general reserve tasks, such as maintaining trails and hides, helping lead guided walks, or routine safety checks.

On-site accommodation and utilities are provided free.

This role is an excellent opportunity to make a genuine contribution to wildlife conservation while gaining valuable insight, experience and skills that would support those wishing to pursue a career in conservation science, field biology, ecology or nature reserve management.

Who we are looking for

Essential:

• Enthusiasm • A strong interest in conservation and natural history • Able to work in all weathers, on challenging terrain and occasionally outside normal office hours. • Self-motivation • Able to work as part of a varied team, and independently. • A full UK driving licence

Desirable:

• Knowledge of ecology • Species monitoring or bird identification experience. • Experience of practical estate / maintenance work. • Volunteering experience. • Relevant studies e.g. conservation, environmental sciences, geography.