Volunteering opportunities

• We are looking to recruit a new volunteer Editor-in-Chief for our scientific journal, British & Irish Botany. Find out more here.
• There are currently vacancies on two of our standing committees - find out more about the roles and how to apply. This opportunity is members-only.
• Fancy becoming a BSBI trustee? Here's how to apply. This opportunity is also members-only.
• We are getting the support team together for the 2023 New Year Plant Hunt. This opportunity is open to everyone and is a great way to dip your toe in the water and find out more about volunteering with BSBI. Email louise.marsh@bsbi.org to find out more.

• We need volunteers every winter to help with the New Year Plant Hunt. Over the past few years, volunteers Ryan, Ciara, Ellen, Richard and Jo have helped with data entry, manned the virtual support desk and answered enquiries from plant hunters on social media. Some of them ended up being interviewed on BBC Countryfile! Find out more in this blogpost by Ciara and read a post by Ellen here.
• Good at writing? If you've attended a BSBI field or indoor meeting, or a training course that you really enjoyed, why not write a short report for our News & Views blog? Or if you've read an interesting paper in a botanical publication, you could write a summary for us?
• Happier with images rather than words? Why not enter the BSBI's annual Photographic Competition? Or send us your best flower or outreach images for uploading to the BSBI's new Instagram account or our News page.
• Good at data entry? We may be able to offer you an opportunity to help! Read how volunteer Shane helped BSBI's Irish Officer with data entry.

• How about offering to organise and lead a field meeting in your area? Contact Field Meetings Secretary Jon Shanklin if you have any suggestions for a great location for a meeting, especially if you can offer a training component. If you don't feel confident about leading on plant ID at your meeting, we may be able to provide an expert on the day.
• If you're based in Scotland or Ireland, are ultra-fit, like climbing mountains and tramping through bogs: have you considered joining the Rough Crew?
• Every year we run conferences and indoor events such as the British & Irish Botanical Conference - if you have an interesting botanical story to tell, we'll offer you free exhibition space or put your name forward for a speaking slot! And we could always do with more help behind the scenes to prepare name badges, upload Powerpoints or set up and dismantle the exhibits.
• Or maybe there are Bioblitzes or local outreach events happening on your home patch and you'd like to attend and help promote BSBI? If you're a BSBI member (and occasionally if you're not!), we can send you display material: read how Liz promoted BSBI in her area.

• BSBI has four country committees and three standing committees who oversee activity in the following areas: Training & Education; Events & Communications; and Recording & Research. Although vacancies don't arise all that often, we are always keen to hear from BSBI members who feel they have particular expertise in one of these subject areas, or want to support botany in their country.
• You can also get involved at local or regional level: it's always worth emailing your County Recorder or local group administrator or contacting either your Country Officer or the Secretary of a country committee and asking if there's anything you can help with.
• Once you start volunteering with BSBI, we can offer you more opportunities depending how much time you want to put in - and what you want to get out of your volunteering. Ellen started out volunteering with the New Year Plant Hunt and read here what she's doing now.
• Ciara also started out volunteering on the New Year Plant Hunt and moved on to sit on several BSBI committees and to set up BSBI's Instagram account.

Looking for paid work rather than a volunteering opportunity? Check out our Vacancies page for BSBI staff positions and Jobs In Botany for vacancies across the sector.