Ouse Blue Connections Volunteer Citizen Scientist

Great Ouse Blue Connections Volunteer Citizen Scientist

• Great Ouse Blue Connections Volunteer Citizen Scientist

At WWT, we believe the best way for people to understand and connect to wetlands is to experience them, so webring awe-inspiring nature upclose. We take people with us and form partnerships to build support for wetlands. People feel part of something amazing and are motivated to make a difference. Our volunteers play a crucial role in saving wetlands for wildlife and people.

We are looking for a small team of volunteers to support our staff in helping with surveys and collecting water quality data in the area of the River Great Ouse
for WWT’s ‘Great Ouse Blue Connections’ project.
We are specifically looking for volunteers based in locations near the project site, including:

• Around the River Great Ouse, Roxton to Earith.
• Alconbury
• Brampton Brooks
• Huntingdon
• St Neots
• St Ives, Cambridgeshire

The initial focus of the role will be water quality monitoring. We hope to continue and extend the project, and therefore and there may be future opportunities to undertake further training and surveys in invertebrate sampling and other data collection or initiatives in the future.

As part of the project’s volunteer team, you will be helping WWT develop a vision for wetland restoration locally, with the aim of securing significant benefits for the water environment, including water quality, flood mitigation and biodiversity. These two catchments are upstream of the Ouse Washes Site of Special Scientific Interest, which is under threat from excessive, deep and prolonged flood events and poor water quality, with Cambridgeshire being one of the most impoverished counties in the UK for biodiversity.

The data you collect will be used by WWT to better understand the water quality of the river and tributaries in the area; help locate potential sites for natural flood management interventions – natural techniques that can be used to help reduce flood risk and improve the ecological status of water bodies; and to measure the success of any interventions put in place.

Your data will also contribute to national water quality monitoring schemes.

The locations for the project are only accessible by foot. Should travel or mobility be difficult for you, there may be options to support data entry only – just let us know.

This role involves:

• Working in pairs as part of a team of staff and volunteers collecting data from rivers, streams and tributaries in the area of the Ouse (Roxton to Earith) and Alconbury and Bampton Brooks, Cambridgeshire.
• Visiting pre-agreed sites to undertake fieldwork to undertake water quality monitoring. This fieldwork may include:
  • Getting your hands wet!
  • We may ask you to enter shallow water depending on the survey you are undertaking.
  • Reading maps to locate survey locations.
  • Using various pieces of equipment to carry out the surveys (training provided).
  • Using apps to digitally enter data.
• There are options to support data entry only – for this, or if undertaking both fieldwork as well as data submission, we ask for a basic level of IT for either app or form use.
• Undertaking training, including an induction into WWT and its work, mandatory health & safety for the role, as well as learning both the monitoring methods required to carry out the surveys and how they are submitted. Training would be delivered at a location close to Huntingdon.
• Joining other volunteers and WWT staff at meetings in person or online to discuss data collected, be involved in the interpretation process and find out how it is being used (optional).

Volunteers are an essential part of the WWT team. You'll get a warm welcome, including information on training, equipment and anything else you need.

If you are interested in volunteering for WWT but don't wish to apply online, please email [email protected] or leave a message at  with your name and number

Just to let you know, some of our roles are very popular. To help our teams and minimise disappointment for people kind enough to want to support us, we might take roles down before the closing date if we get a lot of applications. If you do miss a role, or are looking for…