Blog
Pine Martens and protocols — working with Martens on the Move volunteers to monitor den boxes
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 they bring or whatever time they can give, it all helps to make a difference.
Sightings submitted
340
Irish stoats, polecats and pine Martens from October to December 2024
Volunteering hours
2,700
Time gifted on a variety of volunteer opportunities for VWT's work
Bat Emergence Counts
6,000
Bats counted during the 2024 summer season, adding to the National Bat Monitoring Programme
Current opportunities to volunteer
Volunteers get involved in a variety of ways, including monitoring bats during summer emergence events or winter hibernation counts; monitoring a pine marten den box; setting up acoustic bat detectors in woodlands; 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. Check out our current volunteering opportunities below.
Gather important information on the presence of barbastelle bats.
Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales
Help to set up and monitor acoustic detectors to help VWT find out where barbastelles are roosting in Pembrokeshire as part of its Natur am Byth Barbastelle Project.
What’s involved Set up static bat detectors at selected woodland sites to improve our understanding on the distribution and occurrence of this rare species. We will supply the equipment and allocate a woodland location.
Commitment
- Attend a training session (delivered in-person or online) on how to use the survey equipment.
- Survey at least one woodland location from mid-May to August.
- During the survey — set up the detectors in the woodland and then collect them in again a few days later.
What will you need?
- Enthusiasm and willingness to learn and volunteer outdoors
- Ability to travel to sites and walk through woodlands with uneven ground
- A moderate to good level of fitness
- Attention to detail
- Live in our near to Pembrokeshire
Visit the Barbastelle Project page for more information and to get in touch with Cathy Jewson (Natur am Byth! Barbastelle Conservation Officer)
Join a long-term woodland bat box scheme for barbastelle bats.
Location: near Little Malvern, Worcestershire
VWT has been monitoring the bat boxes for the barbastelle, an elusive woodland species, since 2004.
What’s involved? Join VWT’s Bat Team as they carry out bat box checks for a long-term ringing programme for barbastelle bats. The boxes are located throughout the woodland site, high in the trees and the activity involves a full day of walking, helping to carry equipment, checking bat boxes and recording data.
Handling of bats is not required but may be considered if you have a current Bat Licence and are experienced in bat handling — and are vaccinated against bat lyssavirus.
Commitment
- One weekday per month between April and September (excluding June)
- Full day of outdoor activity — usually 10am–4pm but may finish earlier (if you need to head off earlier, please let the team know beforehand)
What will you need?
- Access to transport to get to the site
- Willingness to work outdoors in all weathers (except heavy rain and high winds)
- Good level of fitness and ability to walk on uneven and muddy ground while carrying equipment
- Enthusiasm for team work
- Willingness to learn
- Attention to detail
To volunteer for this monitoring role, please apply here.
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.
Other ways to get involved
From reporting your sightings to hosting a pine marten den box in your woodland
Report a pine marten sighting
Share your sightings of pine martens and contribute to the first ever National Pine Marten Monitoring Programme. For further information and to submit a sighting, visit the Martens on the Move website.
Report a polecat sighting
Share your polecat sightings (dead or alive) and help to monitor the recovery of polecats across Britain. For further information and to submit a sighting, visit the National Polecat Survey page.
Host a pine marten den box in your woodland
Do you own or manage woodland in the Brechfa, Shropshire-Herefordshire, Solway or Tweed Valley Monitoring Hub areas of the Martens on the Move project? Could you host a den box on your land and provide a site for pine martens to rest and breed. Visit the Martens on the Move website to find out more.
Share your regular monitoring records
We would like to hear from you if you are regularly monitoring pine marten den boxes or monitoring stations, or carrying out scat surveys in our Martens on the Move Strategic Recovery Areas so that we can include your data in the National Pine Marten Monitoring Programme and get your martens on the map.
Read more about how volunteers are getting involved and making a difference
Blog
Learning how to install den boxes
VWT Event
Find out more about VWT's Martens on the Move project
Dr Jenny MacPherson, VWT's Principal Scientist, is giving two talks in mid-Wales on Martens On The Move.
• Tuesday 4 March at 6.30pm — Tea Shed, Pont-rhyd-y-groes
• Wednesday 5 March at 6.30pm — Llanidloes Community Centre
FInd out more about the project and how you can be involved. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Martens on the Move project has been made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund
