How you can help out
How to Volunteer at HWR
If you would like to volunteer with Herefordshire Wildlife Rescue, please email sasha@siren.org.uk with a short description of yourself and your reasons for wanting to volunteer.
Stories from Volunteers
Emma Walsh, Australia
Emma is a Zoologist
'Volunteering with Sasha gave me the chance to experience the ups and downs of rescue work and learn about countless aspects of animal care along the way. Meeting such a diverse group of creatures befriending them with time and helping to give them a second chance at life will always be precious to me. The work was grounding, demanding and sometimes heart breaking but the many joyful moments and valuable lessons along the way were what made the experience so worthwhile. I always wanted to work with animals and gain a deeper understanding of wildlife in particular, and the unique array of experiences definately broadened my horizon in this regard.'
Hunor Szasz
Hunor is an electrical engineer who volunteers in his spare time.
'Volunteering at HWR is the most rewarding experience so far. It's the first time I feel I'm part of something. It gives me a sense of purpose, and it allows me to connect with the community and meet people who share the same interests. It also helps me develop new skills and improve existing ones.
Volunteering makes me feel happier. Giving back something to the community is a great feeling. It's also challenging, as it allows me to be in situations I normally wouldn't be part of and helps me gain new perspectives.
Knowing that our efforts can make a positive difference in our community can be incredibly empowering and fulfilling .
Being in a volunteer role, lead to personal growth, resilience, and self-discovery.
In the words of Steve Irwin : 'We don't own the planet Earth, we belong to it. And we must share it with our wildilfe'.'
Kim Olivares, France
Scientist Kim works in the Natural History Museum in Toulouse
'Since 2019, I regularly volunteered at HWR. These stays have been deeply enriching, both technically and personally. Thanks to Sasha, an experienced and supportive leader, I have gained skills and confidence in a field that is often physically and emotionally demanding. The centre uses ecological and minimally invasive techniques. As a nature lover these stays have given deep meaning to my actions and inspired reflections on the value of wildlife rehabilitation. I highly recommend this experience to anyone and am deeply grateful to Sasha for her invaluable impact on my professional and personal life.'
Becca Raggett
'In October 2020, I discovered Herefordshire Wildlife Rescue (HWR) through Workaway. Prior to that, I had studied animals at college and volunteered at a local vets as part of my course. However I ended up working full-time after college and it wasn’t until the covid lockdown two years later that I had the opportunity to reflect on my true passion – working with animals.
I reached out to Sasha about my interest in volunteering, and within a week I was on my way to the other side of the country, ready to spend two months in the English countryside. I had the privilege of working alongside an expert in her field and experiencing the beauty of British wildlife in a way I hadn’t before. What was initially planned as a two-month stay turned into a nine-month journey and I saw the ups and the downs of doing rescue and rehabilitation work. I gained invaluable knowledge and experience that far exceeded what one could learn in a traditional classroom setting. As a dyslexic individual, I have always struggled within the education system and hands-on learning has been particularly beneficial for me.
Working with HWR boosted my confidence both personally and professionally. I developed a deep passion for animal behaviour, recognising that working with wild animals involves understanding and interpreting their unique language. Dr Sasha Norris and the entire team at the charity instilled in me the confidence to pursue a degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare at university – something I had previously thought was beyond my capabilities. I continue to volunteer at HWR, as it remains an incredible place for both animals and people.'
But Its not all sunshine and rainbows
Hunor describes a harrowing rescue
"Having said that, it's not always sunshine and rainbows. For example, here's one of those situations: It was on one of my days off. I was watching TV. It was a bit over 11.30pm.I got a message on our WhatsApp group that a fisherman found a badly injured Muntjac deer. I quickly checked, and it was about 30 minutes away. The drive seemed much longer as it was on a country road so narrow that the hedges on both sides were constantly brushing against my mirrors .
It was in a remote area, pitch black, no signal, not a soul on the roads. When I finally got there, I couldn't drive in because only tractors were driving there, and it was full of deep tracks and mud. So I parked my car and walked into the field where the fisherman was waiting for me. He offered to drive with his own car so we could be quicker. We drove to a church (creepy looking church, with a stranger, in pitch black and no signal...also binged Criminal Minds the previous days). From the church, we walked about 10-15 minutes in knee-high wet grass.
Then we had to climb down to a river bank where the deer was located. The poor creature had a huge open wound on her left back thigh . It was so bad that maggots infested it. We wrapped her up and carried her back to the car. The deer was transported to the vet, where eventually she was put down because of the severity of her wound . It was about 2am when I arrived home. Sometimes, it's a sad ending, but it makes me happy that we did everything we could. It's still better to put her to sleep instead of dogs or foxes, ripping her to pieces or dying in pain and in cold.'