Biodiversity Monitoring Opportunities
Table 1. Monitoring Opportunities available to Students at the University
| Organisation | Description |
| Biodiversity Working Group Internship | The St Andrews biodiversity internships, open to all students, let you experience and contribute to University of St Andrews projects linked to the environmental sustainability strategy, committing the University to reach net-zero by 2035. |
| British Trust of Ornithology – BTO | Volunteer for bird monitoring projects, open to everyone, during daily activities or hikes. Participate in BirdTrack (record sightings via app), Garden BirdWatch (20-min garden observations), Wetland Bird Survey (monthly wetland monitoring), or Waterway Breeding Bird Survey (transect surveys). You can also join mammal monitoring projects or attend bird identification training sessions. |
| The University Mammal Challenge | Are you a student up for competing with other universities to see who the best at mammalian monitoring is? Then this is the perfect opportunity for you! This annual competition allows up to five students from universities across the UK to demonstrate their data collection to survey mammals in their 1km campus area. Winners will take home prizes. So, give this volunteering experience to contribute to mammalian datasets a go, and may the best university win! |
| Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) | Join a project or placement to involve yourself in, wherever you are in the UK – open to anyone. Volunteering here is a very hands-on experience, protecting rare nest sites, running social media accounts, educate the general population or monitoring conservation sites. The RSPB offer many unique experiences with the possibility to choose to work with them short term (under 4 weeks) or long term (over 4 weeks). |
| Scottish Wildlife Trust | This trust contributes to Scottish wildlife in a range of different volunteering positions and is open to anyone. Become a wildlife watch volunteer, leading trails, and aid young people to connect with nature. Apply to a placement to fully immerse yourself in work in wildlife reserves. This opportunity can range from weeks to months long, depending on your availability. Or you could become a young leader where you communicate and aim to aid others interested in getting involved. |
| Plant Life | Across the UK and open to anyone, this organisation aims to ensure a world full of wild plants and fungi which support so much life that aids our battle against the global climate. Volunteering can involve hands-on work such as conservation work in the field and surveying botanical gardens or research and data analysis. There are more social positions too such as campaigning work which involves public speaking. |