Volunteers are brilliant.

The Dyfi Osprey Project wouldn’t exist without them and every year they bring an ocean full of enthusiasm, commitment and passion. Last year alone, more than 100 volunteers donated over 8,000 hours - that’s equivalent to around six full-time employees or, put it another way, one person being employed for six years straight. Monetary value? Close to £200,000.

But it’s more than that. A hundred volunteers bring a hundred different skills and a hundred different options. Sawing, talking, learning, carrying, cleaning, teaching, wiring, installing, chopping, writing, filming, engaging, communicating… We do a lot of ‘ings'.

Here’s another one.. ‘searching’ - if it wasn’t for these 16 volunteers last year going looking for Cerist after being AWOL for two days and flushing her out, who knows whether we would have seen her again.
 

This year it’s going to be different, a lot different. We will still have our visitor centre and osprey hide of course, but we’ll have something else as well. You may have heard, we’ve been building for the last 12 months.

Over 500m of stunning boardwalk raised up off ground level, super-wide so that we don’t need passing bays so that two wheelchairs can pass each other with ease. It’s made out of modern polymer-resin, over 80% of which is sourced from recyclable materials - glass, wood, plastic etc, the stuff you put in your coloured bins each week. It withstands extreme temperatures and looks fantastic, it can even tolerate long periods of being submerged, which is just as well!

At the far end of the boardwalk we’re nearing the end of another type of development - the 360 Observatory. It looks incredible. It will be a fantastic place to watch and learn not only about ospreys, but wildlife in general. It will also be a fantastic place to volunteer in.

Nearly there..

Next Saturday we host our annual volunteer event: An opportunity to learn more about volunteering with us at Cors Dyfi, an event not only for current volunteers to catch up on what’s new for the upcoming year, but a chance for brand new volunteers to learn more about us as well.

Whether you’re a seasoned volunteer that’s been doing this kind of thing for decades, or if you’ve never volunteered in your life, this event will have something new for you. Here are the details:

Saturday, March 15th, 11am at the Leisure Centre, Machynlleth.

1. Car Parking is free. You will need to pay for a ticket first, but hand the top half (bottom bit goes on your windscreen) at Reception and you will be refunded in full. Alternatively, you can park at the Plas for free.

2. At 12 noon we will be served a coffee/tea and a cake.

3. At 1pm we’ll finish, having had a Q&A session for the last 15 minutes or so.

4. Immediately after, we may have an opportunity to visit Cors Dyfi and see the Observatory first hand.

We hope to see you there - please be prompt if you’re coming so that we can start on time. We all need to be home by 2:45pm to watch Wales lift the Six nations trophy for the third time in a row.

Here are some photos from last year..

Volunteer Heather explains everything ospreys to a young fan

Pip and Vic put the very first planks of boardwalk in place - mind that green camera cable!!

Carol - a volunteer who wrote the DOP Volunteer Handbook

Volunteer Rebecca helps Fiona with some brush cutting

The blind leading the blind!

Tim on the lookout in the osprey hide

The Posh shift - Anne 'Bigfoot' Wren and Posh Pete

Window cleaning - Spanish style (Tenga cuidado de Carol, qué necesita un descanso?)

One of these men is absolutely petrified, the other isn't

Alwyn will soon be dusting off the screens again - not long to go now..