Why we want you: Abbotsford welcomes over 40,000 visitors a year from all over the world. We have been a world-famous visitor attraction since Sir Walter Scott died in 1832. Taken over by a charitable trust in 2007, our mission is to care for his house, estate and collection and share his legacy with the world. We are looking for friendly and outgoing individuals to welcome visitors to Abbotsford and to ensure that their visit is enjoyable and satisfying. Based at the reception desk and gift shop within the visitor centre at Abbotsford, our Visitor Services Volunteers are the face of Abbotsford and play an important part in welcoming visitors from all around the world, ensuring the best possible visitor experience. This role involves a variety of customer service tasks based in and around the reception desk, such as the ticketing system and the retail tills. Our retail operation supports the important work of our charity, so an interest in retail would be advantageous. You might also have the opportunity to help with our public events. What you will be doing: Greeting visitors at the reception desk Ensuring safety and wellbeing of visitors and staff by adherence with good health and safety practice and any mitigating measures during Covid-19 pandemic. Processing admission tickets upselling gift aid, guidebooks, garden tours and any other events on site Offering directions and guidance to visitors on the shop floor and in VC including giving information on other places of interest within the Borders Handling cash and credit card transactions Promoting Abbotsford membership schemes, events, promotional offers & café Liaising with other staff and volunteers across the site Assisting with retail display; cleaning, tidying and restocking The skills you need: Excellent communication skills. Friendly, helpful and welcoming approach to all. An interest in meeting and speaking to people from all walks of life and all around the world. Commitment to excellent customer service. Confidence with cash handling, credit card processing and sales (previous experience is desirable, but not essential as full training will be provided). Confidence with operating an EPOS till system (previous experience is desirable, but not essential as full training will be provided). An interest in and willingness to learn about Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott and the Borders. As the public face of the Abbotsford Trust, volunteers are expected to present themselves in a manner appropriate to their role. What's in it for you: Learn new skills and gain confidence in a work environment Make new friends and meet people from all over the world Become part of a friendly and diverse team Be uplifted by spending time in the stunning surroundings of Abbotsford and support the important work of our charity Get invites to volunteer social events Get discounts in our café and shop Travel expenses will be reimbursed (conditions apply) Use of ASVA cards to visit other attractions

Do you enjoy meeting new people and are interested in protecting Orkney’s wildlife? Becoming a Little Tern Volunteer could be the role for you! Our Orkney team are looking for volunteers to be a regular presence to talk to visitors at Barrier 4 beach in Burray in May and June to raise awareness of nesting little terns. Why we need you: Species on the Edge is a partnership of NatureScot and seven conservation charities dedicated to improving the future of 37 of the rarest and most threatened species on Scotland’s coasts and islands. Orkney is one of seven Species on the Edge project areas, and the team are working to protect nine target species across the county: Great yellow bumblebee; curlew; lapwing; Arctic tern; little tern; plantain leaf beetle; common pipistrelle bat; oysterplant; and Scottish primrose. These species are all struggling and in decline and our islands are some of their last strongholds. The beach at Barrier 4 provides a vital feeding and nesting habitat for Orkney’s little terns and is the UK’s most northerly little tern colony. The colony has been successfully expanding over recent years helped by RSPB Scotland’s annual Little Tern Schools Project in collaboration with Burray Primary and Hope Primary schools. This year we want to increase protection of this little tern site to help us talk to beach users about these special birds and how to access the beach responsibly to minimise wildlife disturbance. Each spring, the Orkney RSPB team erect signage and marker posts around the colony to explain how the public can help the terns by staying out of their nesting area. Unfortunately, incidents of human, dog and predator disturbance (crows, gulls, skuas and birds of prey) do take place and we want to reduce this by providing more of a regular presence at the beach to monitor this and engage with visitors more. This is a fantastic opportunity to increase understanding and appreciation of the little terns, as well as other beach-nesting species such as ringed plover which also breed on the site and are vulnerable to disturbance.   What you will do: • Help the Orkney RSPB team to erect fencing and signage at Barrier 4 beach in April • Helping the RSPB Learning Officer with school beach cleans and educational visits which may include making and putting out tern decoys and chick shelters • Be on a volunteer watch rota in May and June as a regular presence at the beach • Welcome and talk to visitors about the little terns and other Orkney wildlife • Promote responsible access and visitor use and enjoyment of Orkney coastal environments • Keep notes of numbers of little terns and any human or predator disturbance seen • Check tern signage and fencing is intact, and safely remove beach litter where possible What will you gain from the experience? • Opportunities to meet new people and volunteer with others in a group • A chance to see and learn more about Orkney's important wildlife • Developing your skills in communication and community engagement • Experience of working within the conservation sector connecting people to nature in Orkney • Training and support and being part of the friendly Orkney team • Being part of the Species on the Edge programme making a difference for species, nature, and the environment.

Are you keen on cycling? Why not become a Cycle Leader Free Cycle Leader Training which is a certified training course delivered by Cycling Scotland Bikes and equipment provided and training takes place at Lews Castle Grounds

Pet Fostering Service Scotland provide short term care for pets, when their owner is unable to do so through illness, homelessness or domestic abuse and cannot arrange any alternative care. We are looking for volunteer foster carers for these pets who would be responsible for meeting the daily needs of the pets in your care, including feeding, cleaning, grooming, exercising and socialising until the pet is returned to its owner. Pet costs such as food and veterinary fees will be met by the owner.

We need your help to support this event and help raise vital funds for Scotland's ex-Service men and women. We are looking for volunteers to help with bucket collections and running the Erskine stand during the four days of the show? Could you spare 2 hours between 10am and 5pm on Fri 24th, Sat 25th, Sun 26th or Mon 27th May on show days. The role will include bucket collecting, supporting us to staff our Erskine stand, welcoming guests and giving out stickers and balloons to donators. As a thank you for helping, you will receive free access to the show. Thank you.

A fantastic opportunity to join our exciting lock keeping project and experience the 'canal magic' for yourself. As a member of our enthusiastic team of volunteers you will be working in the unique setting of the Forth and Clyde Canal and around famous landmarks such as the Falkirk Wheel and The Kelpies. Working with our volunteer lock keeping team based at Lock 16 in Camelon, the role will involve assisting with boat movements on the Forth and Clyde Canal between Lock 3 at the Kelpies and Lock 20 near Banknock. Go Forth and Clyde assists with every boat movement between these locks 7 days per week during the lock keeping season, so there is ample opportunity to get involved. V Volunteers can use their own bicycles to travel between the locks, but Go Forth and Clyde also provides bicycles for volunteers to use whilst on lock keeping duty. The required tools, life jackets and hi-vis clothing are also provided.

Shetland Triathlon Club require marshalls for their junior and senior events, as well as timekeepers and lane counters. No experience is necessary, as duties will be explained on the day. Marshallling means that you will direct competitors to the correct route and ensure that all competitors are accounted for at the correct turning points / finish line etc. You will never be asked to stop or direct traffic. You could also help with lane counting at the swimming part of the events, or time keep using a stop watch too.

Guide Dog UK are looking for short stay host families to host a guide dog [in training] for up to 10 weeks. The guide dogs will be receiving regular/daily training from the Guide Dog UK trainer in Caithness . Your role will be to keep the dog in your home and follow simple training guidelines while the dog is receiving its official training. Our trainer will pick up and drop off the dog from your home four days a week. For the remaining three days, including the weekend, the dog will stay with you all day. Guide Dogs provide exceptional training and encouragement throughout your volunteering journey and will pay all pre-agreed expenses.

Are you interested in wildlife and would you like to get involved in practical work on our Culbin Sands reserve? We are looking for new volunteers to get involved and help us manage our remote and fascinating Culbin Sands reserve. We rely on the hard work and dedication of volunteers to keep the habitats on this reserve in fine condition. To do this, we are running work groups, usually once or twice a week between August and April. This role is suitable for under 18’s. We will carry out habitat management tasks during these work groups, which will include the removal of scrub and small trees with hand tools and burning brash on bonfires. We are looking for volunteers to help out with these management tasks by joining our dedicated team of volunteers. Work groups take place between Monday and Saturday. It is not possible to run work groups on regular days of the week as access to Culbin Sands is dependent on the timing of tides, so planned work group dates are released every few weeks. The tasks are running as part of our LIFE 100% for Nature Project, which aims to improve the condition of sand dune and vegetated shingle habitats on the reserve, to benefit a range of rare and threatened species. In this role you'll learn about the management and ecology of this important reserve while developing new skills in habitat management or just enjoying this remote and wild reserve. While in the role, appropriate training and support will be provided for all tasks. Through this role you will be making an important contribution to the management of this reserve. We are looking for volunteers who are enthusiastic, flexible and can get on well with a range of people. If you have an interest in conservation it will be helpful, but not essential. No specialist skills are required however, you will need to be able to use hand tools (bowsaws, loppers) for cutting vegetation and you will need to be able to withstand 4-6 hours of working (at your own pace) on a remote site in sometimes poor weather conditions. You will need to be able to move over steep, boggy and sandy ground and be able to step over or use a narrow plank to cross a tidal creek to access the site. You will need to be comfortable to occasionally work around loud machinery and to follow safety instructions. Due to the remoteness of the reserve, there are no indoor toilet facilities at this reserve. You will need to make sure you have an up-to-date tetanus injection. As the reserve is remote, you will need your own transport to get to the reserve. The reserve is not served by public transport. Volunteers will need to provide their own food, drink and outdoor clothing, including wellies. The RSPB will provide appropriate Personal Protective Equipment relevant to the tasks, such as work gloves and protective glasses. We recommend that new volunteers attend a trial volunteer session, to ensure that the role is suitable for them.

Burghead Amenities Association has a wonderful community garden in Burghead which is enjoyed by people of all generations and abilities. They have various flower beds, a sensory garden, play area for toddlers, and hopefully soon they will have an outdoor gym for all ages and abilities. There is ample scope for people to help with all aspects of the garden, from simple weeding, to assisting them on maintenance, designing and caring vegetables. No Skills are required as there will be people around to learn from, to do whatever is needed. The garden is run totally by volunteers, most of whom have no horticultural training, but they all learn from each other and help each other. This is mostly physical work, so people that have difficulty or pain bending and kneeling may want to restrict their time allocation for helping. The local primary children come over with their teachers from the school. All ages are welcome, but children will need to be accompanied by an adult. Volunteers help one hour on a Monday evening and two hours on Saturday mornings. Get in touch if you would like to find out more! https://www.facebook.com/pg/burgheadstationyard/about