There’s an activity for everyone when you volunteer for nature.

I took a trip out to RSPB NI Portmore Lough Nature Reserve last month to see the great work being carried out by Warden Laura Smith, and her team of brilliant volunteers to keep the reserve in tip-top shape for both human and feathered visitors alike over autumn.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Nov 2022, 09:48 BST
RSPB NI Volunteers working at RSPB Portmore Lough Nature ReserveRSPB NI Volunteers working at RSPB Portmore Lough Nature Reserve
RSPB NI Volunteers working at RSPB Portmore Lough Nature Reserve

Everyone was mucking in to tidy and re-lay the gravel on the various walkways to ensure the site remained accessible to as many people as possible throughout the wetter, windier months to come.

While we worked, the sun was shining, and I got talking to the volunteers working on the reserve and found out a little bit about why they signed up for a day of (not- too-hard) graft on a nature reserve out in the Lough Neagh countryside.

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Everyone had different reasons to get involved, and I discovered that the benefits to volunteering were very varied.

Ed shared how he had moved to Northern Ireland only a few years ago, and looking to get out and make friends, he took up the volunteer co-ordinator role with RSPB NI, organising groups and work parties and ensuring other volunteers got the most out of taking part.

Jari is studying Zoology at university and wanted to get some hands-on conservation experience, and Clive joined the team when he retired and had more time to spend doing the things he loves, like being out in wild and beautiful places. One thing was clear though, as everyone laughed and joked through the work,

there was a lot of fun to be had giving some time up for nature together.

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Whatever you like to do, discover more about the wildlife near you and how you can play a part in taking care of it as an RSPB NI volunteer, with 12,000 fantastic volunteers contributing nearly one million hours every year across the RSPB, the variety of things to do are almost endless, and you don’t have to be a bird or wildlife expert either!

Maybe you’d like to lead a tour of one of our sites; or sell pin-badges in your local area, raising vital funds and sharing the message about all the wonderful species RSPB NI is working to protect, or maybe you’d like to get out and do some hands-on conservation work such as taking part in one of our upcoming nettle digs, to get them ready for transplanting on Rathlin Island next spring, as part of our habitat management for corncrakes on the island.

Find out how to get involved in a nettle dig: https://bit.ly/corncrakerspbni

Related topics:RSPBRSPB NINorthern Ireland