Ecological Fieldwork Internships

Ecological Fieldwork in Barra and Vatersay Internships

7 – 16 May 2026

We plan to recruit 3 interns to work with Muir is Tir, an interdisciplinary research project based in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

Muir is Tir is a research project based on Barra and Vatersay aiming to understand and respond to changes occurring along the islands’ dynamic coastlines. As our climate changes, rising sea levels and increasingly frequent storms reshape our coastal landscapes. Through working with communities this project aims to build a better understanding of changes to coastal habitats, and ultimately develop nature-based solutions for improving coastal resilience.

Last year, baseline data was gathered on the vegetation and soil composition of the sand dune and machair habitats on our sites. This year, we are hoping to establish a series of experimental plots, trialling different nature-based coastal management strategies and monitoring their effectiveness on our sites. Some example strategies include electric fencing to remove grazing from certain areas, sand-trapping with materials such as chestnut fencing and sheep wool, and planting of dunes with native species such as marram and lyme grass.

As an intern your role will be highly varied, and will include everything from establishing plots, gathering baseline data, conducting vegetation surveys and, if you would like, processing data in our make-shift lab. Interns should be prepared to work outside in all weather, walk medium distances while carrying equipment, and do light manual labour such as putting up fencing. They will undertake this work with other local volunteers.

Travel and subsistence will be covered, and interns will receive £250 of gift vouchers.