Volunteering taster weekends in the UK
| country: | England |
| location: | Peak District, New Forest, Norfolk |
| departures: | Please contact us for 2009 departures |
| price: | From £195 (2 days) excluding flights. Price includes all meals, Saturday night accommodation, training, excursions and equipment. Note that if you subsequently join one of our 1 or 2 week projects, £100 will be credited |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Our taster weekend conservation projects are just what they say they are: weekends that will give you a unique insight into what it’s like to be in the field assisting scientists with wildlife research and conservation. They are always set amongst the stunning scenery and wildlife of Britain’s National Parks where you will be part of a small team, alongside a park ranger and your expedition leader.
You will discover expedition, wildlife research & conservation skills such as working with a map, GPS and compass, collecting important animal data, reading animal tracks and signs, using telemetry equipment and wildlife camera traps. You will also learn about the national park you are in, its fauna and flora, history and the conservation work going on inside.
Each taster weekend follows the same basic plan of creating a mini expedition. Just like on expedition there is an assembly point that you have to get to under your own steam (and where you will meet at 09.00 on Saturday morning) to start your taster weekend. And just like on expedition we’ll start with introductions, a safety talk and a brief overview of what’s to come. Below is a general outline of the weekend, but please remember that plans can change, for example due to the weather, and that you need to stay flexible and approach things with a sense of humour – just like on expedition.
Saturday afternoon: Into the field with your expedition leader and a park ranger/guide to practice the skills learned in the morning. You’ll be locating radio telemetry transmitters, setting up camera traps, doing a bit of navigating and learning how to recognise animal signs & tracks and record them just like a conservation scientist or a team member on expedition would. Your expedition leader will be your link to our expeditions, so if you find a fox track, for example, your expedition leader may use this as an opportunity to talk to you about wolf tracks on expedition and how to record and measure them. Your park ranger/guide will create local relevancy and teach you about the local flora & fauna, the National Park and its conservation work, history and other interesting historical and social facts. After our field walk we go back to our hotel base for a three-course dinner (vegetarians and other special diets can be catered for on request).
Saturday evening: After dinner, there’ll be a couple of presentations. One about us and all our expeditions and projects worldwide to wet your appetite; the other on the National Park. After this there’s time to chat, relax and socialise before turning in for the night.
Sunday: Our day starts with a hearty breakfast at the hotel base, where we will also receive our lunch packs. After a brief overview of the day, we go into the field again, this time to a different habitat, but not before we check the results of our camera trapping from the day before. In the field we continue to try out our newly acquired skills and learn more about the local wildlife and its conservation. Lunch will be in the field, just as it would be on a working day out on expedition. By the end of the weekend you should have a very good idea about the National Park and what being on expedition is like. We return to the hotel base at around 14.00 for a final coffee and farewells.
On some weekends, there is an optional add-on of an hour or so to go for an off-road drive in the expedition Land Rover. On this drive, the expedition leader will show you what the vehicle can do and what kinds of skills you will need and be taught on expeditions that involve Land Rovers.
You will discover expedition, wildlife research & conservation skills such as working with a map, GPS and compass, collecting important animal data, reading animal tracks and signs, using telemetry equipment and wildlife camera traps. You will also learn about the national park you are in, its fauna and flora, history and the conservation work going on inside.
Each taster weekend follows the same basic plan of creating a mini expedition. Just like on expedition there is an assembly point that you have to get to under your own steam (and where you will meet at 09.00 on Saturday morning) to start your taster weekend. And just like on expedition we’ll start with introductions, a safety talk and a brief overview of what’s to come. Below is a general outline of the weekend, but please remember that plans can change, for example due to the weather, and that you need to stay flexible and approach things with a sense of humour – just like on expedition.
day-by-day itinerary
Saturday morning: Introductions, safety talk, brief outline of the weekend ahead and the people and parties involved. Introduction to research techniques and equipment such as GPS, compass, map, hand-held radios, camera traps, radio telemetry equipment, data sheets and data collection techniques, recognising animal tracks and signs, etc. Coffee break and sandwich lunch at the hotel base. Saturday afternoon: Into the field with your expedition leader and a park ranger/guide to practice the skills learned in the morning. You’ll be locating radio telemetry transmitters, setting up camera traps, doing a bit of navigating and learning how to recognise animal signs & tracks and record them just like a conservation scientist or a team member on expedition would. Your expedition leader will be your link to our expeditions, so if you find a fox track, for example, your expedition leader may use this as an opportunity to talk to you about wolf tracks on expedition and how to record and measure them. Your park ranger/guide will create local relevancy and teach you about the local flora & fauna, the National Park and its conservation work, history and other interesting historical and social facts. After our field walk we go back to our hotel base for a three-course dinner (vegetarians and other special diets can be catered for on request). Saturday evening: After dinner, there’ll be a couple of presentations. One about us and all our expeditions and projects worldwide to wet your appetite; the other on the National Park. After this there’s time to chat, relax and socialise before turning in for the night.
Sunday: Our day starts with a hearty breakfast at the hotel base, where we will also receive our lunch packs. After a brief overview of the day, we go into the field again, this time to a different habitat, but not before we check the results of our camera trapping from the day before. In the field we continue to try out our newly acquired skills and learn more about the local wildlife and its conservation. Lunch will be in the field, just as it would be on a working day out on expedition. By the end of the weekend you should have a very good idea about the National Park and what being on expedition is like. We return to the hotel base at around 14.00 for a final coffee and farewells.
On some weekends, there is an optional add-on of an hour or so to go for an off-road drive in the expedition Land Rover. On this drive, the expedition leader will show you what the vehicle can do and what kinds of skills you will need and be taught on expeditions that involve Land Rovers.
Highly Commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
award winner
This tourism business won an Award in our 2006 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society. The central tenet of the Awards, in which winners are nominated by tourists, is that all types of tourism – from niche to mainstream – can and should be operated in a way that respects and benefits destinations and local people.
how this holiday makes a difference
 The operator always works with locally owned hotels and support that National Parks it works with in their conservation and education remit. Wherever possible and where such schemes exist, hotel bases will be award-winning hotels that are approved by the National Park and run themselves with the environment in mind. The operator is committed to running real wildlife conservation research expeditions to all corners of the Earth and says "Our projects are not tours, photographic safaris or excursions but genuine research expeditions, promoting sustainable conservation and preservation of the planet's wildlife by forging alliances between scientists and the public. Our goal is to make, through our expedition work, an active contribution towards a sustainable biosphere. We believe in empowering ordinary people by placing them at the centre of scientific study and by actively involving them out in the field, where there is conservation work to be done. We always work in close conjunction with local people and scientists and try our best to ensure that the fruits of our expedition work benefit our local helpers, their society and the environment they live in. Adventure, remote locations, different cultures and people are part and parcel of our expeditions, but also the knowledge that you will have played an active role in conserving part of our planet's biosphere. We exist for those who, through their hands-on work, want to make a difference to the survival of the particular species or habitat under investigation, and to the world at large. We invite everyone to come and join us out in the field, at the forefront of conservation, to work, learn, experience and take responsible guardianship of our biosphere. To achieve this we will wherever possible, collaborate with reputable scientists, research institutions and educational establishments (wherever possible from the host nation) who are experts in their field, collaborate with organisations and businesses which operate in an ethical and/or sustainable way, operate in an ethical and sustainable way, minimising negative impacts on local cultures, environments and economies, publish results and recommendations based on collaborative work together with those who helped gather data and draw conclusions. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |