Volunteering with Sea Watch Foundation
The work of the Sea Watch Foundation (SWF) could not be carried out without the help of a dedicated team of volunteers assisting in ongoing research and education projects as well as with data inputting, analysis and various administrative tasks both in Oxford and in the New Quay office in Wales. During the winter, our needs are primarily office-based: organizing and analysing data collected during the previous field season, processing cetacean sightings for our UK national cetacean sightings database, and developing from these data scientific reports and public education materials. We also need help with updating the Cardigan Bay photo-identification catalogue, organising other photo-identification data from all around the UK and sorting images for the photo-library and the Europhlukes catalogue. In the summer season, we require a team of dedicated research and education volunteers in our offices in New Quay, West Wales. We also conduct other research activities around the UK, including offshore cetacean line-transect surveys in the Irish Sea and minke whale studies in Hebrides, for which we are always looking for experienced cetacean observers. However, the best and easiest way to get involved on a regular basis is to contact your regional co-ordinator and join him/her for a land-based watch for whales, dolphins and porpoises.
Home-based Volunteering
The home-based work is centred on our sightings database of over 60,000 records of whale and dolphin sightings dating back to the 1960s. We receive on average up to 100 sightings every week and always have a backlog of records which need processing and later checking. There are a wide variety of activities associated with this work, as responding the observers with encouragement and new sightings forms, checking species identification, entering details of new observers on our contacts database, helping with the analysis and presentation of the cetacean observations.
We are also in the process of developing more sophisticated methods for analysing our “effort data” (i.e. hours watched from land or km travelled in a vessel survey) using a GIS database and spatial modelling. These tasks vary in the skills they require: some need previous scientific/cetacean experience (e.g. GIS, general computer programming or statistical analyses of seasonal distribution) and could be taken on as a student project; others are non-specialised office tasks (e.g. filing, computer data entry, book keeping). For those already with appropriate experience in sightings database entry, and of proven accuracy, the important task of data validation is on offer.
Our photo library and individual photo-identification catalogues all require a great deal of maintenance effort, which is done either from home or in New Quay (we have slide scanners and computing equipment at both offices). Volunteers with some knowledge of Adobe Photoshop are particularly suited to these tasks.
Much of the work of the charity involves raising awareness on marine mammals around the UK and the conservation threats they face, and disseminating the results of our research. This involves the production of newsletters, posters, leaflets, fact sheets and Powerpoint presentations. Volunteers with skills in any of these areas are particularly sought.
The various aspects of research and education detailed above form the core of Sea Watch’s work, but to be able to maintain and develop these activities it is really important that the charity raises the necessary funds. Volunteers can be very valuable in assisting with preparing grant proposals and seeking other funding from a variety of sources, answering routine enquiries, processing gift aid forms, and sending out merchandise that people have ordered.
Some of the tasks listed above can be done from home and don’t require full-time presence at SWF offices. So, if you are computer literate, well organised, enjoy administrative and analytical tasks, and could work at our main office in Oxford and/or from home either full or part time, please send a CV and covering letter to:
Dr Peter Evans,
Scientific Director, Sea Watch Foundation,
Ewyn y Don, Bull Bay, Amlwch, Isle of Anglesey, Wales, LL68 9SD, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1407832892
Email: peter.evans@bangor.ac.uk or info@seawatchfoundation.org.uk
Research Volunteers in New Quay, Wales
Volunteers are invited to assist with the running of the “Cardigan Bay Monitoring Project”. The project is based in New Quay, West Wales, and takes care of the conservation management of the bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise and grey seal populations of Cardigan Bay, monitoring their abundance, distribution, reproductive success and population structure using a combination of line-transect, photo-identification, land-based and acoustic surveys.
The volunteers will help the Cardigan Bay Monitoring Officer and the Sightings Officer with:
- Conducting land based surveys of dolphins and porpoises
- Conducting line-transect and ad-libitum surveys onboard our research vessels
- Collecting data on marine mammal sightings and weather conditions onboard local tourist boats
- Data entering of land- and boat-based sightings, and assisting with the National Whale and Dolphin Watch
- Assisting with the update and maintenance of the bottlenose dolphin photo-identification catalogue
- Assisting with awareness raising and education initiatives
- Assisting with acoustic monitoring, using T-PODS and hydrophones
- Participate in training courses and public talks
Volunteers are required from April until October 2010, for 4 separate periods of 6 weeks each. Preference will be given to those who can stay for more than one period, including the whole 6-months field season. Volunteers will be based in New Quay, West Wales. Accommodation is provided at a rate of around £50/week. Volunteers are responsible for their own travel, accommodation and living expenses, but it is generally quite easy to obtain part-time paid work in the area if required.
Volunteering periods
- Period 1 26/04/10 - 6/06/10
- Period 2 7/06/10 - 18/07/10
- Period 3 19/07/10 - 29/08/10
- Period 4 30/08/10 - 10/10/10
Important skills/qualifications
Essential:
- an ability to work in a conscientious and reliable manner
- strong commitment to volunteering work
- willingness to work long hours outdoors in often very changeable Welsh weather
- basic IT skills (Office package)
- an ability to get on well with others in a small team
- a background in marine biology/environmental science or similar
- a strong interest and knowledge of British cetaceans
- prior experience in boat-based survey work
- good verbal and written communication skills and in public speaking
- experience in interacting with the public
Desirable:
All volunteers will be trained in cetacean observation and identification, in line-transect survey protocols and photo-identification of bottlenose dolphins and grey seals.
To Apply
Please send your cv, covering letter and contact information of two references, detailing any relevant experience and specifying the time period in the season you would like to volunteer to:
Daphna FeingoldCardigan Bay Monitoring Officer
Tel: +44 (0)1545561227
Email: daphna.feingold@seawatchfoundation.org.uk
The deadline for applying is the 31st of January 2010, but we invite to send applications also later on since new vacancies might arise during the season.
Please specify “New Quay volunteer application” in the title of the email.
Please do not send applications via snail mail; only email applications will be considered.
Register as a Cetacean Observer
If you have some experience in observing cetaceans, preferably during offshore surveys, and would like to join us in our surveys, then send us your CV, likely availability and geographical areas preferred, and your contact details, and we will put you on our register, contacting you whenever we require observers. Although these are primarily voluntary positions, from time to time we will be able to offer paid work as well. They provide excellent opportunities to see more marine mammal species and gain further experience in line-transect survey and photo-identification techniques.
To apply, please send your CV and details to:
Dr Peter Evans,
Scientific Director,
Sea Watch Foundation,
Ewyn y Don, Bull Bay, Amlwch, Isle of Anglesey, Wales, LL68 9SD, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1407 832892
Email: peter.evans@bangor.ac.uk or info@seawatchfoundation.org.uk