From David Wild, East Lothian Council's Countryside Officer
Countryside Volunteers
f you like the sound of a volunteer patrol across our wildlife resplendent shores, dunes and woods, which would of course be perpetually drenched in summer sunshine, then perhaps this opportunity may be of interestÖ
We are now looking for volunteers to assist with the monitoring of some of our coastal sites across the summer period. By popping details into a user friendly app when you are out and about, you can help us monitor access and wildlife, providing Rangers with invaluable help on the ground during the busy season. Patrolling would not include any public engagement and is purely to record what you see during a tour of a given site, highlighting any particular issues directly to the Rangers on the day.
You can volunteer for one or more sites, and there is no minimum number of patrols that we'd ask you to cover. Instead you would just let us know your availability a couple of weeks before the start of each month and take on what you can comfortably manage.
Patrols would be for a max of 3.5 hours on any Fr/Sat/Sun/Mon, but most sites are far quicker to cover. Last year our parameters were:
• Start: morning patrol: starting 0900 (no earlier) , finishing by 1230 at latest
• Afternoon patrol 1230 onwards, finishing no later than 1600
If you are interested in helping, can I please ask that you reply directly to me dwild@eastlothian.gov.uk, full instructions and information would follow at the start of March but I am happy to answer any questions you might have in the meantime.
For information, the list below details sites where we'd like to have people volunteering, with priority sites highlighted with an asterisk.
Many thanks.
Dave
David Wild
Countryside Officer
East Lothian Council
Penston House.
Macmerry
EH33 1EX
01620 827 279 (answering machine)
