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Projects

Essex Wildlife Trust welcomes applications from students wishing to undertake project work, and from other interested volunteers. We have a variety of potential projects available, from short term projects that would suit students looking for dissertation work, to longer term monitoring and group projects. We also welcome applications from students with their own project ideas.

Interested in surveying? Click here to find out more.

Please contact us if you are interested in a particular project, or if you have a project idea.

Information for Students and Volunteers

Essex Wildlife Trust has over 2000 volunteers that help out with a variety of tasks, from admin work and helping to run our visitor centres, to practical conservation work and helping with surveys. At the records centre we are dependent on our volunteers for much of our survey work, and they also assist us in data collation and digitisation, planning surveys and mapping the results.

Most of our survey work is done between March and September, but some surveys can be done in the winter months and data collation and analysis takes place all year round.

Get involved! Join the Essex Wildlife Trust survey team

Take part in our Hedgehog Survey

Hedgehog. Photo: Tom Marshall

The hedgehog, scientific name Erinaceus europaeus, is an instantly recognisable mammal, but there is growing concern that hedgehog populations are declining nationally. Help us to monitor the distribution of hedgehogs in Essex by reporting sightings of hedgehogs in your garden, or in your local area. 

Click here to find out more and report your sightings!

 

Get involved! Projects for volunteers

Swifts are in Trouble – They Need our Help!

The Common Swift is one of our iconic migratory visitors, coming from the insect rich skies over the African Congo to breed in the UK but numbers are declining.

 Swift. Photo: Andrew Moreton
Digitising and analysis of Anthony Hurrell's bird ringing records

Essex Wildlife Trust holds a number of diaries from Anthony Hurrell, who kept detailed records of the birds that he ringed at his Essex home for decades.
Analysing Essex Butterfly data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

Essex Wildlife Trust has a number of butterfly transects set up on its reserves, many of which have been running for some years.

 Common Blue butterfly. Photo: Annie Gordon

Partnership projects

Orchards East

Orchards East is an exciting new HLF funded project to survey orchards in the East of England region. Essex Wildlife Trust Biological Records Centre is working with other records centres... more

East of England B-Lines project

Essex Wildlife Trust has been working with the invertebrate conservation charity Buglife on their B-Lines initiative, identifying and developing wildflower-rich habitats across Essex as... more Wildflower meadow in Stebbing, Essex.

Brimstones and Buckthorn Campaign

The Blackwater Estuary is a key Living Landscape area within Essex. Through this Living Landscape and in partnership with Maldon District Council and Butterfly Conservation, Essex Wildlife Trust... more Brimstone butterfly. Photo: Jim Higham