I am a very happy Riverfly Monitor, and along with many other volunteers, I obtain valuable data for Dorset Wildlife Trust that ultimately reveals information about the health of our rivers.
In 2022, after thinking for quite a while that given the opportunity, I would spend all day working in and around rivers, I happened to see an advert on Instagram to join a Riverfly Workshop with Dorset Wildlife Trust. I absolutely loved this event and learnt how to identify a few freshwater macroinvertebrates; I couldn't wait to start sampling at a site in Wimborne with a fellow volunteer.
I was so excited to discover that the voluntary work I would be involved with meant putting on waders, carefully collecting samples, identifying species and returning them safely to the river. Living the dream!
The following year I took part in the Extended Riverfly Workshop and since then I have been monitoring 33 species on the same site in the beautiful chalk stream that is the River Allen.
In addition to this, I had started a Natural Sciences degree with The Open University, and now in my final year I am able to put my knowledge of river species to further use: my final research project is focused on data collected by myself and other Dorset Wildlife Trust Extended Riverfly volunteers. I have had so much support from various people with this, not least Dorset Wildlife Trust representatives.
The voluntary work that I do with Dorset Wildlife Trust is something that I truly love, and I'm so pleased that I grabbed the opportunity to make contact the day I saw the advert for that first workshop.
There are so many opportunities to get involved in, and volunteers are invaluable. The role I play is relatively small, but with lots of us working together it can really make a difference. You get to meet people, it can make you feel good, and you never know where it might lead. So, if it's something you've been thinking about for a while, find the area you're interested in and go for it!
