Enjoy Autumnwatch? Here's how to become a volunteer at Arne

If you have the urge to volunteer for a charity then I would strongly recommend contacting RSPB Arne.

You really have to see the reserve to believe it. It is truly magical and the people are great.

When I first enquired about volunteering there I met up with Anneka Schofield, RSPB Dorset’s Schools Outreach Officer.

She showed me the amazing and comprehensive information pack for new volunteers. The RSPB really do look after their volunteers from training, to travel expenses, to clothing and more.

Having worked in Outdoor and Environmental Education for a number of years it was volunteering with young people that inspired me, but there are many roles that people can do.

Being a newbie I have so far only led two school groups around RSPB Arne in my volunteering role, but I have known the reserve from days of old, working at a local field studies centre, and running a wildlife club based in the Isle of Purbeck, where we visited regularly.

Being part of the RSPB team is lovely and RSPB Arne is a very special nature reserve that draws me and my family back time and again.

To drive down the lanes on your way there feels like you are going to a mystical place in the middle of nowhere on the edge of Poole Harbour - which it completely is!

George Hinton, Visitor Experience Officer at RSPB Arne, and I, had a fab two days with a school from Bournemouth when I helped lead one half of the group around the reserve, while George took the other.

It’s brilliant to take children out of doors, to experience nature first-hand, and nowhere could be better than at RSPB Arne.

It’s almost impossible to describe the nature reserve fully - it really is better to see why it’s so special by visiting.

I love the hollow thud underfoot on the paths of the sandy heaths, the heather in full bloom, the changing seasons, the views stretching across the harbour with Corfe Castle in the distance, the little bits of boardwalk which feel exciting to walk along, the subtle shift in habitats from heath to woodland to shore, and my all-time favourite place Shipstal Point.

I often wonder what other visitors must think as a party of 30 children arrive to join them, but the place just lends itself to sitting quietly and eating lunch and looking out to the islands and birds and blue-sky.

And it sounds cliché but RSPB Arne’s wildlife is incredible.

To show children the wonders of stinky wood ants without getting covered in them (almost impossible!), watching birds flit about and listening to their birdsong, spotting the sika deer across the fields, trying to mimic the sound of an oystercatcher, endeavouring to take part in a silent walk, making up names for butterflies, working out how to use binoculars – these are just a few examples on what the children get up to when they visit RSPB Arne, but every minute is a joy.

To be fair the ants are only stinky if you brush them with a piece of bracken, and we are able to identify most butterflies, but our aim of engaging people (young and old) with this fantastic environment, is key for me and very much the heartbeat of the RSPB.

It’s also a privilege to take children to a bird hide, many of whom have never been inside one before and if we spot any wildlife whilst in the hide, it’s a bonus.

It’s simply wonderful to be a part of that.

I’m very much looking forward to continuing to volunteer at RSPB Arne and also enjoying the reserve with my family, in my free time too.

It’s the kind of place to inspire poetry – so I’ll have a go: RSPB and the beautiful Arne Mysterious, magical, bursting with charm Park up, lace up, and go for a stroll Giving nature a home, and restoring the soul.