Wildlife Surveyor (Bat Surveyor)

About Us The Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) aims to safeguard the distinctive character, natural beauty and cultural heritage of the landscape, whilst involving people and organisations in looking after this protected landscape; providing information about the area's special qualities and encouraging people to visit and enjoy the area. Biodiversity surveying is a key part of conserving and enhancing the AONBs rich flora and fauna. Volunteers play a vital role in helping the AONB understand the biodiversity which is within the AONB and plan how to best manage it.

The Quantock Hills AONB are hosted by Somerset Council and are majority funded by DEFRA with contributions from local authorities and external funding.

What this volunteering role offers you

Volunteering for the AONB Service gives you the chance to:

• increase your knowledge and understanding of the natural environments of the Quantock and Blackdown Hills
• learn more about the work of the AONB Service
• develop your identification and surveying skills
• be part of a friendly and supportive team
• share your passion for outdoor learning, wildlife and conservation to encourage others to take action and to become reconnected with the landscape around them and
• gain experience of using wildlife surveying techniques.

We currently require people to take part in surveys for this years bat season!

The specific methodology for these surveys will be covered as part of your training, however the general method is going for a walk along a fixed route and counting the number of bats that you detect. You will then record this information on a form, which you will submit to the Quantock Hills AONB. Prior knowledge of the species is helpful, however it is not essential as full training will be provided in order to enable you to carry out the survey.

Training for this role will be taking place in the evening of the 22nd June

The wildlife surveys will take place outdoors, often in remote places and in difficult terrain. The surveys will be spread out over the whole extent of the Quantock Hills AONB area and wider locality when working on specific projects (such as the Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme).

Full training and support will be provided to ensure you are able to carry out the surveys effectively and safely. As a rough guideline you would be expected to volunteer for at least 2 days per month. Surveying occurs mainly in the evenings across weekdays and weekends.

Volunteers say:

A wonderful and supportive experience that has allowed me to get stuck in to a variety of different projects and events, whilst making a positive contribution to the community.

Extremely rewarding and it gives me the chance to do/try things I wouldn't normally be able to do in my day job.

A positive experience which has enabled me to pursue a long-term interest & learn new skills whilst being well supported.

Please note, this role requires a reference, where possible the reference should be provided by your current or most recent employer or volunteer role. If this is a difficulty for you, please contact the Volunteer Team on 01823 359200 / volunteer@somerset.gov.uk