Volunteers play a vital role in helping MCS work to care for our seas, shores and wildlife and there are lots of things you can do to get involved. Please have a look through the suggestions below and contact info@mcsuk.org if you'd like to volunteer to help MCS.
We are currently looking for committed volunteers who have good IT skills to help with our Marine Reserves Now campaign, particularly if you live near our head office in Ross-on Wye, Herefordshire. If you think you might be able to help please email info@mcsuk.org
- coastal challenge: The UK has over 18,470 km (11,477 miles) of beautiful coastline and we want cover it all with your help. Whether you want to take a sponsored coast-to-coast challenge, walk your favourite stretch of coastline, or add up miles on the treadmill, we would love to hear about it - by World Oceans Day 8th June 2008 together we hope to cover the entire distance and raise vital funds for our vital work. We don’t mind how you do it (within reason & legality!), so whether you decide to walk, run, cycle, swim, sail or skip to raise money for the MCS, we just need to know the distance you cover so we can start chipping away at our grand total. With your help, we can do it!
- local groups: MCS Local Groups play a vital role in raising awareness about marine conservation issues at a local level, recruiting new members and raising funds for national campaigns. A number of MCS Local Groups have already been established and a list of these can be sent on request. There are still many areas in the UK where we do not have a local voice and would welcome your support in setting up a Local Group.
- beachwatch: This nationwide annual beach clean and survey takes place every September. By organising Beachwatch in your area, you can help highlight the problems of coastal pollution whilst gathering data on the amount, types and sources of marine and beach litter. The information recorded over the Beachwatch weekend, from hundreds of beaches around the UK, is analysed to identify the most common items of litter on our coast. A report of the results is published, which is used as a focus for the MCS Campaign For Clean Seas to increase individual, industry and government responsibility to keep litter out of our seas.
- adopt-a-beach: The Adopt-A-Beach project has developed from Beachwatch as a local environmental initiative. By adopting a beach, individuals and groups make a commitment to their local marine and coastal environment - volunteers clean and survey their stretch of coastline on a quarterly basis, and report their findings to MCS to be used to identify seasonal variations in the amounts and sources of coastal litter. You can do other surveys and projects, and really make a difference to "your" stretch of beach.
- basking shark watch: Basking sharks are the second largest fish in the world, and yet we know very little about their population size, migration movements or the impact that direct fisheries are having. MCS launched the Basking Shark Watch Project in 1987 to gather information about the sharks that visit UK waters every summer. The information gathered has provided evidence that conservation measures are needed to ensure the future of the basking shark population and strengthened the case for protection of the species in UK waters. It is now fully protected in UK law after MCS campaigning. Observations are sent in to MCS on Basking Shark Watch sightings cards - contact the office today to obtain yours.
- adopt-a-turtle: Turtles are illegally hunted for their eggs meat and shells. Nesting beaches are threatened by uncontrolled development, thousands of turtles drown needlessly after getting entangled in fishing gear, and marine litter and pollution claim the lives of many turtles. Without urgent action, some turtle populations may soon be lost forever.
Through Adopt-a-Turtle, MCS provides financial and practical assistance to marine turtle research and conservation projects in the UK and abroad. Adopt a turtle and together we can save them.
- jellyfish survey: MCS requires detailed records of jellyfish strandings on UK shores and jellyfish swarms at sea. If you regularly walk along beaches, are an Adopt-a-Beach/Beachwatch volunteer, dive or sail, you can help. A recording form and ID guide are all you need to take part in the MCS jellyfish survey.
- seasearch: The Marine Conservation Society and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee set up Seasearch to establish a map of marine habitats around the UK. Volunteer divers are trained in marine life identification and survey techniques before taking part in the Seasearch surveys. All that is required is an appropriate diving qualification and a keen interest in marine life.
- mcs members' dives: MCS Member's Dives are for our diving members who want to take part in conservation projects underwater, want to learn more about marine life, or just want to enjoy some of the best sites for marine life both in the UK and further afield.