As many readers of this blog know I've been volunteering with the Water of Leith Trust for several years now. I regularly walk through the Colinton Dell section of the riverside pathway, picking litter and recording wildlife sightings.
Recently, I've also been sometimes adding the Slateford to Saughton Park stretch of the river to my walk, as the trust is currently without a regular volunteer to do this patch. This is a much more urban part of the river, with a couple of stubbornly bad blackspots of litter. It's a surprisingly good area for wildlife though. Yesterday, I saw two dippers and a grey wagtail and had my best ever sighting of a goldcrest, which hopped round the branches near me, just at eye level, for several minutes.
Plus the snowdrops are lovely at the minute and I found this patch of winter aconite, a beautiful garden escape which I've never seen before.
So if you are in Edinburgh and looking for an outdoor volunteering opportunity, you may be interested in offering to be a river patroller for the Slateford - Gorgie - Saughton Park section of the Water of Leith. The role involves walking the route about once a week, recording wildlife and picking litter (with no expectation that you pick every single piece of litter!). Training and a litter picker provided, plus regular opportunities to meet with other volunteers.
Find out more about volunteering with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust.
As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other webpages where you can find out more.
Volunteering is a great idea.. Nice to way to also enjoy the nature scenes and birds. Have a happy day!
ReplyDeleteGood for you for volunteering. It's healthy getting out in nature. Doing some good at the same time is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteNot only is the volunteering good, but it is good for us to know a piece of ground in such detail that we notice all the changes of the seasons and are grounded in that place.
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent point, sage and one of the main reasons i love this volunteering
ReplyDeletebeautiful blooms.
ReplyDeletethat's a great idea,if you're close enough,xx Rachel
ReplyDeleteWell done, and thanks for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteI got more than 1 huge bag of litter from the roadside along the area I monitor here in the Pacific NW today. But it has been 7 months since I last cleaned it up!
ReplyDeleteChange of scenery pretty nice, eh?