Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre

Marie Therese Schmitt 4 May-5 September 2011

I applied for a volunteer position with the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (CBMWC) because I wanted to gain new experiences, improve my English and help to conserve Cardigan Bay’s wildlife through education and research. During my time as a volunteer I was involved in different aspects of CBMWC’s work. I operated the visitor centre and this included dealing with enquiries from the public, taking boat bookings and selling items from the gift shop. I collected data on the local marine wildlife during land-based and boat-based surveys. In my two hour land watch shift I often answered questions or talked with members of the public. Another aspect of my work was to input the collected data into a database and GIS system, as well as checking both. I was responsible for updating the sightings information online and on the boards (one in the centre, another one in Quay West caravan park), litter picking on the beach and in town and on some days I was responsible for writing the daily rota.
During my time at the CBMWC I learned so much about the wildlife and how important it is to protect special areas, which are rich in their variety of marine animals and plants, like Cardigan Bay. I met amazing people and had unforgettable experiences. I learnt so much about this special area and enjoyed my time there so much that it has become a very special place to me.
Regarding my English skills this stay abroad helped me a lot. Everyday I had to communicate with the other volunteers, which came mostly from different parts of the UK, answer phone calls (which was especially hard and nerve wracking in the beginning) and having a chat with visitors. My listening comprehension improved and I am more fluent than I was before.
I am so happy that I was able to work with CBMWC and it was a life changing experience for me. I would like to thank Laura, Steve, Sarah and all my co-volunteers who made my stay unforgettable, special and familiar.

Nichaela Boxall 29 June-5 September 2011

I applied to the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre because I wanted to gain more experience doing marine mammal surveys. I had already done a couple of courses with other charities and wanted to gain practical experience. I found out about the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre through the green volunteers book and when I researched it I thought I had the right experience to give to the role with my survey experience as well as my retail skills. In addition the volunteering would be challenging enough to develop my skills and be a valuable experience. Also another reason for applying was I heard a lot about the bottlenose dolphins in Cardigans Bay SAC and had always wanted to see them up close and this seemed liked the perfect opportunity as well as being able to return to Wales.

Nadine Winkler 19 July-10 October 2010, Germany

Working in the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre was a once in a lifetime experience for me. Studying biology and English to become a teacher for secondary schools in Germany made me choose CBMWC to improve my English skills and gain more experience in a field that I have always been interested in – marine biology. The work at CBMWC turned out to be the perfect mixture of both for me. On the one hand I dealt with a lot of people from all over the United Kingdom while working in the centre. I was able to improve my English skills by fulfilling everyday tasks like having a chat witch customers or taking boat bookings. First I didn’t really know if I could benefit the research and understand everything properly but it turned out that everyone volunteering with CBMWC has been very patient with me and my second language skills.On the other hand I have had some breathtaking experiences while doing research on the Cardigan Bay bottlenose dolphins. The work on the boat as well as the land based surveys from the harbour wall offered some intensive moments with these wonderful creatures. Furthermore I am now able to share these first hand experiences with my future school children. Working for the centre also made me aware of the fact that knowledge is the most important key to support conservation.

All in all working together in a team with so many lovely people and spending a few wonderful moments with these intelligent cetaceans enriched my life.

Carolien Zanstra 10 May-10 October 2010, Netherlands

Having gained both my bachelors and masters degrees I applied to be a volunteer with CBMWC in the hope of gaining more field experience and I was also keen to learn more about the marine side of zoology, having focused mainly on terrestrial biology before. Although originally I was meant to stay for a six week period I ended up staying for most of the season, almost six months.  This meant that as well as doing land and boat surveys, manning the visitor centre, inputting data and updating the website I was also able to be involved with the photo ID catalogue and run the CBMWC facebook and Twitter pages. I also thoroughly enjoyed becoming part of the community in New Quay and making loads of new friends, both with all of the volunteers at the centre and with the local population. Overall it was a fantastic learning experience, giving me invaluable insight as to how a conservation project with firm links with the general public functions, with the added bonus of being located in beautiful surroundings with fascinating marine wildlife and a charismatic flagship species. Now I’m heading out into the real world, hoping to continue my quest to gain a job in the field of conservation, research and education.

Alex Williams 3 May-10 October 2010, UK

Time flies when you are enjoying yourself so the saying goes and my time here certainly has gone by quickly. It feels like a few weeks rather than six months! I had previously been nowhere where dolphins could be spotted so close to shore and for me that has been a big highlight; every time I saw one, I was filled with awe for these magnificent animals.

I come from Cornwall and have been interested in the sea for many years. This first started with a PADI open water diving qualification and wanting to learn more about this new world I was experiencing. I did a BTEC National Diploma at college and whilst there was fortunate enough to be given work experience at The National Seal Sanctuary and Orca Sea-faris, where I had hands on experience with the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of Atlantic grey seals and working within an small organisation that ran wildlife watching trips for the general public. After college it was a natural progression to a marine biology degree at Swansea University.

After graduating with the enthusiasm to get started on the marine biology career ladder, I looked for jobs mainly in Wales but also nationally. I was surprised to discover I didn’t have the experience necessary for a career straightaway. To build up the required experience I decided to do as much volunteering work as I could. Before arriving at Cardigan Bay Wildlife Centre (CBMWC) I had volunteered at the National Lobster Hatchery, Wildlife Trust and National Trust. CBMWC has been my longest voluntary position and the most enjoyable, I have realised that awareness and education of conservation is an area I would like to be involved in rather than pure research. I have enjoyed informing people about the cetacean species that can be seen within Cardigan Bay and answering questions.