Farming Cluster Volunteer Surveyor - Pollinators

Why we want you?

The RSPB conservation team (Cambs, Beds, Herts) focus on our conservation work outside of reserves. In Cambridgeshire, one of our key work areas is nature-friendly farming.

The Ely Nature-Friendly Farming Zone (ENFFZ) is a farming cluster aiming to be an exemplar of a profitable, sustainable farming landscape demonstrating increasing levels of Fenland biodiversity. They are supported by the RSPB and are working to be known for inspiring, developing and sharing best practice in nature-friendly farming locally and nationally.

By ensuring all ENFFZ members are working to achieve the Farm Wildlife 6 key elements, farmers are doing their utmost for the wildlife within the Fens. The group provides members with a voice and an opportunity to show the public, farmers, landowners and both local and national ministers the great work being undertaken on their farms. You can find out more information about the cluster group here (site still in development): https://elynffarming.wordpress.com/.

To support the ambitions of both the ENFFZ and our future farming cluster group work with new farmers, we are looking for enthusiastic and motivated individuals to support us with baseline wildlife surveys (and repeated future surveys)! This role is specifically looking for people interested in surveying for pollinators.

This is an exciting opportunity to help expand our impact and support the RSPB’s wider mission to create a world richer in nature. You will become part of a small team of RSPB staff, farmers, and volunteers, helping to create a sustainable monitoring legacy for the ENFFZ.

What will you be doing?

You will be supporting the RSPB conservation team to baseline the farms involved in the Ely Nature-Friendly Farming Zone (or Ramsey cluster – TBC).

The RSPB / Ely NFFZ have been working with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to develop a Pollinator Scorecard and Presence (PSP) survey. The first part of the survey aims to identify pollinator suitable habitat across the farm and provide a baseline score for which the farmer can work to improve. This is an opportunity to sit down with the farmer and talk about the habitats on their farm before going out onto the farm to sense-check / survey some of the habitats identified in your discussions. The scorecard and habitat maps will be provided by the project, and the habitat maps should be updated as part of the discussion. The second part of the survey follows the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) FIT Count methodology to generate additional species data. You will be allocated a farm or farms within the Ely NFFZ cluster (or Ramsey cluster - TBC) and provided with the appropriate contact information.

Whilst the details of the survey methodology are being finalised, we are expecting you will:

• Need to carry out a minimum of three survey visits from April – September (inclusive) to carry out the initial scorecard assessment, habitat sense-checking and repeated FIT Counts. There is currently no set timeframe on when to carry out these surveys, providing maximum flexibility, and more than three visits can be carried out.
• Need to be able to travel to a farm / farms within the ENFFZ area (North from Ely to Denver / Southery / Brandon Bank and South from Ely to Soham / Chittering / Earith) or within the Ramsey area (new farming cluster). You can see a boundary for the ENFFZ here: https://elynffarming.wordpress.com/the-ely-nffz/.
• Develop and maintain relationships with the farmers and land managers.
• Facilitate support for nature-friendly land management.
• [Optional] Support less experienced volunteers by acting as a mentor OR support volunteers without access to their own transport.

We will be holding training sessions to support you before you go out into the field. These are:

1. A virtual training session on Thursday 23rd April, 10AM-12PM OR Thursday 30th April, 10AM-12PM. We will confirm the session based on the number of attendees signed up. This session will focus on an introduction to the scorecard and surveying with the RSPB. It will be recorded and shared with all volunteers, so no-one misses out on the information.
2. An in-person training day at RSPB Hope Farm on Tuesday 12th May (times TBC). This session will focus on a demonstration of the scorecard with our very own RSPB Hope Farm staff and a habitat / pollinator walk.

The skills you need?

Essential

• Ability to walk a moderate distance (~2km), likely on uneven terrain.
• An interest in increasing your identification and survey knowledge of pollinators. Training provided.
• An interest in increasing your habitat / plant identification and survey knowledge. Training provided. Resources can be provided on request.
• Strong organisational skills.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to build and maintain relationships with farmers.
• A great people person, friendly and approachable.
• Ability to work with sensitive data and adhere to GDPR guidelines.
• Reliable and committed.

Desirable

• Basic identification skills (pollinators and plants).
• Prior surveying experience (general).
• Pollinator and / or habitat and / or plant survey experience.
• Full driving licence (many of our farms are difficult / not possible to travel to via public transport).

What’s in it for you?

• A fantastic opportunity to support a farming cluster working to provide a space for nature on their farms and a partnership of farmers creating wetland habitat to support our well-loved Fenland species.
• Training to help you learn new skills and make sure you are prepared for the role.
• Meeting like-minded people.
• Flexibility, meaning this role works around your other commitments.
• You will be making a genuine contribution to nature conservation, so if that is your motivation, you’ll find satisfaction in this role.
• You will learn all about how the RSPB works and gain experience working for an environmental charity.

Additional information?

• We will be offering this role to our current Farming Cluster Volunteer Surveyors across other species surveys, so we may close this advert early if we have reached the number of surveyors required for our number of farms.
• Appropriate training will be provided.
• Expenses reimbursed.
• Appropriate equipment provided (where necessary).
• Whilst this role is flexible, it is essential that the surveys are carried out according to their respective methodologies and within the required time frame.