Ten European Voluntary Service volunteers from Spain, France and Hungary are joining the Trust’s Conservation Teams around Scotland thanks to Erasmus+ funding.

The volunteers will complete year-long placements in Dundee, Irvine, Castle Douglas and Inverness, gaining valuable skills and experience while helping to maintain and improve some of our wildlife reserves. Many previous volunteers have gone on to full-time employment in conservation in their home countries.

“Volunteering for the Trust was a great experience to learn more about nature conservation and about Scottish culture too. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with nature, and an excellent way to do something for Scotland’s natural treasures.”

Guilherme Castro 

Since 2014, European Voluntary Service volunteers have given the Trust around 32,000 hours of their time, and contributed to the management of one third of our reserves.

Guilherme Castro from Portugal spent six months volunteering with the Trust in Tayside in 2017. He said:”The main tasks I was involved in included the removal of non-native species, maintenance of paths and fences and planting native trees to reforest natural areas.

“Volunteering for the Trust was a great experience to learn more about nature conservation and about Scottish culture too. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with nature, and an excellent way to do something for Scotland’s natural treasures.”

Keep Erasmus Plus

The Trust is supporting a campaign led by YouthLink Scotland asking the UK Government to commit to participation in Erasmus+ after the current programme ends in 2020. You can help by signing this petition.