Residential on Reserve (More than 4 weeks) (Ramsey Island)
May- September 2022
Overall purpose of the role
We are looking for someone to join our small and friendly team, to spend four months living and working on Ramsey Island. You will inform our visitors about the island's wildlife and the work of the RSPB. Helping people to have a fantastic experience and encouraging them to support our work by joining the RSPB. We need a confident individual with excellent communication skills who can assist the warden and site manager to deliver the reserve's events schedule. Your main duties will include meeting and greeting visitors arriving by boat and giving introductory talks.
After training you will be expected to lead Guided Walks around the reserve and to man telescopes showing people peregrines, seabirds and seals. The smooth running of the visitor experience depends on a well trained and organised volunteering team. A major part of your role will be to assist the Warden with induction of short-term volunteers and the planning and implementation of their work programme.
Ramsey is a working farm and the role will also involve assisting island staff with a wide variety of tasks relating to the running and management of the reserve. This will include habitat/vegetation management and general maintenance of reserve infrastructure.
There will be opportunities to help with bird and species monitoring and to learn ecological survey skills.
In this role you will gain:
• Gain experience and confidence in providing visitor services and delivering events.
• A working knowledge of the RSPB and current conservation issues.
• Practical experience of working on a nature reserve and managing different habitats for wildlife.
• Gain experience of a variety of bird species and habitats including coastal grassland and maritime heath.
• ATV training and qualification.
• First Aid training if required.
• Training in use of hand and power tools.
• Experience of working in a team and supervising other volunteers.
• Free accommodation (including bills) in stunning surroundings based on the reserve.
Main duties
Main Tasks
Assist island staff with the delivery of a high quality visitor experience and events schedule
• Meet and greet day visitors arriving by boat. Provide a friendly and informative welcome including an introductory talk to up to 40 people at a time.
• After training, to lead guided walks around Ramsey for groups of up to 16 individuals, adults and families.
• Recruit new members to the RSPB.
• Assist island staff with special events for schools, supporters and special interest groups.
Assist the team with day to day management and admin tasks such as:
• Supervision and co-ordination of short-term volunteers, including transportation of luggage, accommodation induction, daily work schedule and provision of health and safety information.
• Maintaining visitor facilities, including shop, reception area and toilet facilities
• Writing blogs for the Ramsey webpage
• Habitat management including bracken and thistles control
Collect and collate biological records
• Assist with chough nest site and productivity monitoring
• Assist with monitoring of non-avian taxa e.g. weekly butterfly transect walk and reptile monitoring
• Record bird numbers daily for island log
• Assist with Breeding Bird survey and learn mapping and survey methods and skills.
Skills required
Essential:
• Confident people and communication skills and an approachable personality.
• A keen interest in conservation and natural history, especially the marine environment.
• Self motivation. A responsible and mature individual who is comfortable using your own initiative to plan, carry out and complete tasks, and also have the confidence to ask for help when you require it.
• Team Player with the ability to work and live with a small team.
• Experience of Volunteering.
• Ability to lead a team of volunteers of all ages.
• Some experience of bird identification and knowledge of seabirds and marine issues would be an advantage.
• You must be prepared to work outdoors in all weathers (island weather can be severe at times!)
• Working hours are varied and will involve working on Saturdays and Sundays but you will always have two days off a week.
• Must be prepared to live in a remote location which can be cut-off from the mainland by rough seas for many days at a time.
• Happy to drive quad bike with trailer (after training), happy to work with animals (mainly sheep and sheepdogs).
Desirable:
Specialist knowledge is not necessary, but some experience of coastal environments and of the identification of seabirds would be an advantage.
Previous experience of living and working in a remote location.
Previous experience in a customer facing environment or in the tourism sector.
Accommodation
Accommodation for residential volunteers is in a large three-bedroom bungalow which will be shared with short term volunteers some of the time. There will be times when you will be living alone in the volunteer accommodation, it’s really important that you are someone who is happy living and working as part of a small team or on your own.
You will have your own single bedroom. Kitchen, bathroom and lounge facilitates are shared by the volunteers. There is a full size cooker and fridge-freezer but no microwave, television, radio, or iron. A washing machine is available.
Solar panels provide lighting and limited electricity. Small electrical items like mobile phones, laptops and camera batteries can be charged. Large electrical appliances such as hair driers or electric heaters cannot be used in the building.
The lounge has a wood burning stove for use in the colder spring and autumn months, but there is no other source of heating and none in the bedroom areas. There is a no smoking policy in all the buildings.
Location
Ramsey Island is one of RSPB Cymru's most remote and breathtaking reserves. Thousands of seabirds nest on the cliffs during the spring and early summer and 5,000 pairs of Manx shearwater nest underground in burrows. Chough and peregrine are present all year round and the island is home to the largest Grey seal colony in south-west Britain. Island staff also look after Grassholm Island, home to over 36,000 pairs of Northern gannet and the only gannet colony in Wales.
We welcome over 4,000 day visitors to the island each year.
Ramsey lies 3 miles west of St David’s and our mainland harbour and is serviced by a shuttle bus during the summer months. St David’s has good amenities; several pubs, cafés, a post office and banks. For food shopping there is a small supermarket, greengrocers and butchers.
Boats run Saturday to Thursday (closed on Friday) weather permitting but can be cancelled for several days at a time if sea conditions are unfavourable.
Candidates must be prepared for periods when there is no access to the mainland.