Other Volunteer Roles

Many of our volunteers are working with the Conservation Volunteer Group. Wildside also welcomes other volunteers from time to time in various roles to support our work. The Centre could not function without volunteers and we are enormously grateful for their support.
This may be occasional help, such as helping serve refreshments on open activity days, leafletting, gardening on our site and so on. Most of the volunteers who give occasional help are involved with us as Friends or Members and so are kept informed when we need help.

A team of people also volunteer as crew members on the narrowboat. Each boat trip has a fully qualified skipper and at least one crew member. The office will send out requests for crew on particular dates and volunteers agree dates when they are available.
The volunteers who act as crew are responsible for helping to prepare the boat for a trip, looking after the passengers and making sure that safety precautions are adhered to. They also operate the locks and handle the ropes when casting off or mooring and act as eyes and ears for the skipper. Some of the crew members help with the maintenance of the boat.
Training is available periodically and on the job training is given by the skippers. Crew members will be signed off as competent by two skippers. In view of the contact with passengers, many of whom are children or vulnerable adults, a DBS check is required.

Some people volunteer to help in the office. We have limited physical space in the office but some volunteers work at home on particular issues. We have a mix of routine jobs like checking the first aid boxes and developmental tasks like designing publicity or fundraising. Currently, we would welcome enquiries from people with advanced skills in data entry or in desk top publishing (various packages such as Adobe Publisher or Quark). Due to the pressures on our administration, volunteers in the office need to be able to work competently and independently, without a great deal of input or supervision.

A few volunteers are working directly with groups on activities. In general, this requires the same skills as would be applicable for sessional staff such as teaching qualifications, environmental qualifications or coaching skills.
For reasons of their own, these volunteers wish to work on activities without being paid. A DBS check would always be needed in view of the direct contact with children or vulnerable adults.

Please enquire on our office number if you are interested in any of these roles and/or would like details of our Friends and Members scheme. 01902 754612 or info@wildsideac.co.uk