Training, equipment and courses

BTO Equipment donation scheme 

Age: 21 and under 

No closing date, all free 

Do you have a pair of binoculars you no longer use or a bird guide collecting dust? Donate them to the Equipment Donation Scheme and help support the next generation of conservationists. If you’re under 21 or represent a school or university group, you can apply to receive donated optics or identification guides. 

BDMLR Marine mammal medic (British Divers Marine Life Rescue) 

Cost: £150   

BDMLR’s Marine Mammal Medic Course (MMMC) is open to anyone over the age of 18 and you do not have to be a diver. It is a full day training programme designed to provide you with the basic knowledge, skills and expertise to enable our volunteer teams to respond to a callout and act on behalf of that animal’s best welfare interests. On completion of the course you are added to BDMLR’s Marine Mammal Medic database, which is used to alert medics of nearby animals in distress. However, even if you do not live by the sea, it is a fun way to learn the correct first aid techniques to help marine mammals should you come upon an animal needing help. 

SMASS (Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme) 

Free course 

SMASS hosts a number of volunteer training courses every year, designed for those interested in helping us collect data and samples from marine animal strandings. The main purpose of the one day training course is to demonstrate how to safely and accurately collect information and samples from stranded individuals, as well as to explain a bit more about the pathology and disease processes in marine animals. The course contains a talk and a practical session including the necropsy of a marine mammal – where  you will be taking samples yourself!