Description
Volunteers aged 16 and over are needed to help run the Coastwatch Beach Pavilion in Irvine. This is an interesting and worthwhile volunteering opportunity. No qualifications or experience required.
Coastwatch is looking for volunteers aged 16 and over to help run the Beach Pavilion in Irvine. Your level of knowledge is immaterial. Our members have very different backgrounds and levels of knowledge, so whatever training you need to become a valued member of Coastwatch it will be geared to your experience (or lack of it). Instruction is available in any area of Coastwatch’s remit, be it watchkeeper or shopkeeper, or you might just want to volunteer to help run the charity. We have several retired volunteers who quite happily simply man the office for a few hours a week which helps keeps the Beach Pavilion open.
If you are an electrician, plumber, roofer, painter or mechanic you can help us too. If you have promotional or artistic skills, are a web designer, have nursing skills, are a teacher or an accountant - we would love to hear from you. All your skills will be useful to us. Any training you wish to undertake will be geared to your own choices from the available courses which include first aid, using a radio or map reading. You might want to help with the running of the shop which is an important source of income to the charity. The choice is yours.
After a settling in period, a training pack can be organised for you which will identify the skills you have, and those which you may wish to acquire. Not only will you learn how to approach new challenges in a competent and confident manner which are always useful when looking for paid employment, but other less obvious skills are always being learned through interaction with the public by using your first aid skills, patrolling the harbour or beach area, helping to organise events, or simply selling teas and coffees in our wee shop.
Organisation aims and objectives
Coastwatch Scotland, Irvine, is solely manned by a team of volunteers of varying skills and ages. We provide a lookout and listening station which monitors activity on the beach, the seashore, the river and the beach park to ensure the safety and the wellbeing of the public and any mariners within four mile off shore in conjunction with the HM Coastguard and the Police.
Frequency and commitment details
No travelling expenses are paid to volunteers while travelling to and from the Coastwatch office. All other expenses (if any) are covered by Coastwatch.
Restrictions
Experience required: N/A
Travel details: Irvine Railway Station is about a mile from the Beach Pavilion, otherwise a bus will take you most of the way. There are plenty of car parking spaces available.
Minimum age: 16
Support
Expenses paid: Yes
Training details: Our new volunteers’ initial training course covers first aid, radio procedures, navigation and map reading. These can be converted into recognised qualifications by the RYA and SQA. Training is mostly in-house and our volunteers should attend weekly training sessions which are held on a Wednesday evening and occasionally at the weekends either inside the Coastwatch Pavilion or, if the weather is good, outside on the beach or in the Beach Park. We also have opportunities to train for DofE awards.