If you fancy being in the water you can volunteer to pick seagrass seeds. It's a bit like gardening, only you bob around on the sea surface to pick the seeds, marvelling at the hidden wildlife sheltered among the seagrass leaves. These seeds will eventually be planted back into their watery environment next spring, hopefully bursting into new life, after a sleepy winter at the Portsmouth University Marine Labs.
If your inner mermaid prefers to ‘haul up on the rocks,’ you might enjoy taking part in one of the Trust’s summer citizen science intertidal surveys. As the tide retreats, you’ll explore the shoreline, recording the incredible diversity of species you find. All your observations feed into a growing database that helps track changes in marine life - work that’s becoming increasingly important as our seas warm.
If you really enjoy that, you can train to become an Intertidal survey leader, ‘brushing up’ on some old skills and maybe learning some new ones, as you make new friends. You don’t have to be an absolute wiz at identifying all the different species, there are always many who come along who are good at this, but you do need to be organised, and good at counting people as they move around - which is actually more challenging than you might think! Training opportunities will be available early next year, as the Marine Team expands its survey programme.
Not a fan of getting your feet wet? No problem - you can still make a huge difference by helping at our educational stalls throughout the year. You’ll meet audiences ranging from curious children to nature-loving octogenarians, and sometimes get to visit special venues. One of my highlights was the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary on the Isle of Wight, where I had time to see their newly arrived brown bears, Benji and Balu.
I’ve also spent a happy day at the Portsmouth Marine labs scrubbing oysters making them ready for release into the River Hamble and I’m really looking forward to another day of this in October.
There are so many ways to volunteer with the Marine Team, and I’ve loved every moment. Beyond helping protect the marine environment, I’ve been able to share my passion for the sea, gain new skills, and make friends who share the same enthusiasm.
We may not be true mermaids or mermen, but we certainly enjoy playing the part - whether out on the shore or at events - while making a real, lasting difference to our beloved Solent seas.
If this blog has inspired you to get involved, you can find out more about volunteering with the Trust here.
