Get involved

Image of Yorkshire Peat Partnership staff and volunteers © Dom Hinchley

Yorkshire Peat Partnership © Dom Hinchley

Get involved

There are many ways to get involved in peatland conservation:

Image of peatland surveying in Arkengarthdale © John Skeffington

Surveying in Arkengarthdale © John Skeffington

Jobs

We are not currently recruiting.

 

 

Image of volunteers inspecting timber dams © Les Hughes

Volunteers inspecting timber dams © Les Hughes

Volunteering

The vast bulk of our restoration work is carried out by specialist contractors and consequently our practical days tend to be few and far between. We are, however, currently looking for volunteers to help us create a peatland monitoring network across North Yorkshire.

Volunteer support for data collection for this project will enable us to collect more information, from more sites, that will inform future works and go towards evaluating the current health of these extremely important habitats. Get involved in this exciting new challenge here.

Volunteering case studies

Matthew Snelling

I am a recent university graduate where I studied Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science. I have always had an interest in the natural world and the YWT traineeship provided me with a fantastic opportunity to apply the theory I had learnt in a practical and professional setting. The internal training courses were a valuable resource to developing the skills I need now as a Peatland Restoration Assistant.

I have been based in the YWT Skipton Office since I joined the organisation in 2016 and the Yorkshire Peat Partnership and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust staff have always been supportive and ready to share their skills to aid my development. 

The challenges of my current role and the freedom to pursue my own personal development has given me a great start to my career in nature conservation.

Roz Barden

I wanted to change my job and do something worthwhile and even make a difference. So I applied to become a trainee on the Northern Reserves 3 days a week to give some good background experience in nature conservation. The experience was great, seeing different reserves, working with volunteer groups, learning new skills, I even helped on a large boardwalk project. Within YWT you felt valued as a trainee and part of the team, when it came to internal vacancies – I applied. This was the break I needed to get into the Peat Team and my first real job in the conservation sector.

This was the break I needed to get into the Peat Team and my first real job in the conservation sector.

Mark Perry

As a keen supporter of environmental protection with a fascination of ecology and natural history, I set myself the commitment to become an ecologist to help improve understanding of the natural world and so make better decisions for the environment. However, I discovered that it takes a great deal more than a university degree to qualify me for such a thing; there’s also a multitude of complex practical skills for me to master to make myself employable in the ecology sector. Just some of these skills which I identified including using GIS, carrying out Phase I habitat surveys and surveying and handling protected species. The big question for me was where to get started with it all…

A great solution presented itself in the voluntary traineeships offered at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. I was then delighted to find and take the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust traineeship on the Yorkshire Peat Partnership to get me on the right track, with the closeness to home being a bonus. This is now proving to be a good way to furnish me with the sought-after technical skills for the ecology sector. There’s also a reasonable budget to finance other relevant courses to for me to take outside the YWT environment.

So far, learning GIS has been one of the highlights of the traineeship, particularly with the real-life applications which I have already used it for and thanks to Colin McLeod’s excellent book, “GIS for Biologists”. I have also enjoyed taking part in the sphagnum planting and vegetation and peat surveys in Nidderdale; alongside experiencing the ethos and function of a highly dynamic and enthusiastic peat restoration team.

Admittedly, it will take me longer than the one year of my traineeship to bring my ultimate career to fruition, but this traineeship is definitely guiding me in the right direction and I look forward to the sense of achievement that awaits me at the end.

 

I enjoy every moment of my time here and like to think that every little bit which I learn, whether it’s technical or character-building, will help me in the years to come.