Are you passionate about our county’s wildlife? Would you like to get involved in helping with its conservation?

The Dorset Wildlife Trust is looking for people to look after the seas and is calling on people to volunteer in the Isle of Purbeck area as well as Weymouth and Portland.

Volunteers are needed at the Fine Foundation Wild Seas Centre at Kimmeridge and the Fine Foundation Chesil Beach Centre on Portland.

Julie Hatcher, Wild Seas Centre Officer, said: “We have an amazing team of volunteers at Kimmeridge and Chesil with a wide range of backgrounds and ages.

“What they all have in common is a passion for wildlife and a desire to help ensure its well-being.

“We’re a friendly and fun bunch of people to work with and are looking forward to welcoming some new faces to our Centres in 2020.”

The opportunity is open to local people who want to get involved with saving Dorset’s marine wildlife.

No prior knowledge, experience or expertise is required to take part, as free training to provide all the necessary skills and knowledge to be a volunteer will be included.

Topics covered during this training will include how to identify various points of wildlife in rock pools, geology and fossils and how to survey the seashores of the new Purbeck Coast Marine Conservation Zone, the Chesil Bank and The Fleet nature reserve.

There will be open sessions at both the Wild Seas Centre and the Chesil Beach Centre in early February, in which people are welcome to meet the team at each centre and get a feel for what goes on.

However, there are only a finite number of a vacancies for volunteers.

Anyone interested in these opportunities should contact their respective centre to register interest.

People looking to volunteer at Kimmeridge should contact Julie Hatcher on 01929 481044 or kimmeridge@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

Those looking at Chesil should reach Sam Dallimore (for Chesil volunteers) on 01305 206191 or sdallimore@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

To find out more about Dorset Wildlife Trust volunteering opportunities, visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/volunteering-opportunities