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Make a difference Getting involved

Making a difference

Volunteers are crucial to our work — whether it's the traditional conservation volunteer activities or taking part in wider citizen science surveys — we wouldn't be able to achieve as much for threatened mammal conservation without their help. Whatever skills or whatever time offered, it all helps to make a difference.

Volunteering opportunities with VWT Ireland

Volunteers get involved in a variety of ways, including monitoring bats during summer emergence events or winter hibernation counts;  or helping with the maintenance of bat reserves. 

Opportunities can often be seasonal, have fixed start and end dates, or they may be home-based and continuous. 

Volunteering opportunities in Ireland are currently fully subscribed, please check back again as volunteer opportunities will be advertised here when they are available.

Frequently Asked Questions about volunteering with VWT

We welcome volunteers of all ages but we do ask that any volunteer under the age of 18 is accompanied by a parent or guardian who is also registered as a volunteer with us.

We share our volunteering opportunities that are open to new volunteers on this page and through our Social Media platforms. Many of our volunteering opportunities are seasonal so we may not always have opportunities to share with you — but please keep checking this page.

Some of our volunteering takes place alongside VWT staff and in groups. Other opportunities allow volunteers to be more independent and carry out activities on their own.

Most of our volunteer roles ask for no prior experience and instead focus on characteristics that suit the volunteer role. All the volunteer roles include information about what is needed for the activity to help decide whether the role is suitable for you.

In most circumstances, yes. Volunteering activities are often in the field and may involve getting to remote places. However, some of our volunteers are able to carry out volunteer roles on their own land — eg, hosting a pine marten den box in their woodland, or monitoring a trail camera in a nearby location. 

Commitment levels can vary depending on the activity. During the main monitoring season (April-September) there is a peak of activities — during this period some activities take place one day a month for at least five hours in the field OR, once in June for three hours during an evening — it really depends on the activity. Check the ‘commitment’ details of each volunteer opportunity in the Current Opportunities section. We recognise that people have varying amounts of time available and so we try to be flexible where we can.

Yes — occasionally we do recruit for volunteer roles that are office-based or home-based. These will be shared in Current Opportunities when available.

Read more about how volunteers are getting involved and making a difference

Blog

Counting bats in Kerry – VWT Ireland’s volunteer, Nora, keeps an eye on lesser horseshoe bats and their roosts