Habitat Management Volunteer, Orkney

We are looking for 8 habitat management volunteers in Orkney

Habitat Management Volunteer, Orkney

Do you enjoy the outdoors, wildlife watching and want to do something practical to help Orkney’s wildlife? Species on the Edge Habitat Management role could be for you!

Orkney is one of seven Species on the Edge (SotE) project areas. The SotE Orkney team are working to protect nine target species across the county: Great Yellow Bumblebee; Curlew; Lapwing; Arctic Tern; Little Tern; Plantain Leaf Beetle; Common Pipistrelle Bat; Oysterplant; and Scottish Primrose.

The habitat management work we will be doing this year will be mainly to benefit the Great Yellow Bumblebee. However any work for this species will benefit a range of pollinators and also the species that prey on them, for example bats.

Great Yellow Bumblebee is associated with meadows and large expanses of flower-rich grassland, as well as dune systems and particularly with machair habitats in Scotland. Once widespread over the UK, the Great Yellow Bumblebee is found only in far north and west Scottish mainland and islands. Orkney supports one of the last remaining populations of this rare bumblebee. It is strongly associated with habitats rich in kidney vetch, red clover and knapweed. The species requires large, interconnected legume rich open habitats and is primarily found in coastal areas but is also found inland, including on road verges and farmland.

We are looking to recruit eight volunteers to help sow and collect seeds for pollinators as part of our conservation activity for the Great Yellow Bumblebee. Work for this will begin with planting seeds in May/ June. The next stage will be collecting seeds in the autumn and likely more sowing in autumn too. Some seeds will be bought in for 2025 but will be sourced as locally as possible. If you or anyone you know can donate seeds to us (please ask land owner permission first), please do let us know.

What you will do

Help us hand-sow and collect wildflower seeds such as Red Clover, Kidney Vetch and Yellow Rattle to then plant on sites around Orkney.
Receive training online and/or in person to provide insight in this work and then on-site training on the day of the work groups associated with this role.
Attend our work group sessions to help us collect and sow wildflower seeds.
For some surveys you will be asked to enter the data onto an online website used by the relevant partner, for example the Bumblebee surveys.

What skills you need

General fitness and ability to walk across rough terrain and bend low to collect and sow seeds.
Willingness to learn identification of wildflowers and how to collect and sow them as well as some bumblebee ID so you can tell who visits them once they grow.
Ability to work well in a team and independently.
Ability to travel independently to survey sites and work in remote locations.

What you will gain

Opportunities to meet new people and visit new places in Orkney.
A chance to see wildlife closely and learn more about Orkney’s important biodiversity.
Hands on practical experience of creating habitats that benefit one or more of our Orkney species.
Developing skills and building confidence in using survey methodology and species recording.
Experience of working within the conservation sector in Orkney.
Training and support and being part of the friendly Orkney team.
Time out in nature for your own active health and wellbeing.
Being part of the Species on the Edge programme having a direct impact for species, nature, and the environment.
Travel expenses can be reclaimed.