Page 14 - BBOWT Annual Review 2017-18

Build our 1,800

delivercapacity to volunteers
BBOWT wouldn’t exist without the
thousands of members who support our 63
work through their annual memberships
and by giving so generously to our appeals. volunteer working groups

M any have also remembered BBOWT in their Will, helping us 41
to protect the region’s most outstanding natural places for
generations to come. Gifts in Wills are one of the simplest Wildlife Traineeships
and most effective ways to support the Wildlife Trust and secure its
future. Previous gifts have enabled us to buy land or provide the 22
resources to look after it.
Investors in Wildlife
We work hard to build a lasting relationship with all our members corporate partners
through Wildlife News magazine, online newsletters, guided walks
on our nature reserves and special events. Members are invited to
complete a survey that helps us to improve our events programme
and the way we communicate.

Social media has become a highly effective way to raise our profile
and reach a new audience. It builds awareness of activities, such as our
badger vaccination programme, and enables us to respond quickly
to news. The number of followers across our social media channels
continues to increase, reaching 19,000 by the end of the year.

Volunteers are central to BBOWT’s success. More than 1,800 people
give their time to volunteer in activities across BBOWT, from clearing
invading scrub or surveying orchids on a reserve, to desktop research
at head office. Together they contribute more than 24,000 sessions of
volunteering, equivalent to over 50 full-time staff members.

Research by The Wildlife Trusts shows that volunteering in wild places
while being supported by Wildlife Trust staff has a clear impact on
people’s mental health: it makes people feel better, happier and more
connected to other people.

Surveying of our own volunteers reveals that the perceived benefits to
volunteering include protecting wildlife and the wider environment,
improving wellbeing, making new friends and learning new skills.
More than 90% of volunteers describe their experience of volunteering
with BBOWT as‘excellent’or‘good’.

Every year the Wildlife Trust recognises the remarkable contributions
of our volunteers by honouring their work through Group, Individual
and Lifetime Achievement awards announced at our AGM.

14 Annual Review 2017/2018 | Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust