Do you fancy living for free on an uninhabited Pembrokeshire island for three month, monitoring seabirds and seals? If so, you have until the end of this month to apply for what would be for many a dream opportunity.
Three long term volunteer positions are available for 2026 on Skomer Island.
The tiny island off the Pembrokeshire cost is an internationally important seabird island, known for its puffin population as well as being home to nearly 350,000 breeding pairs of Manx shearwaters, thousands of guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes and hundreds of fulmars.
The long-term volunteer positions are available from Saturday, March 28 to Saturday, July 4; Saturday, April 25 to Saturday, August 1 and Saturday, July 4 to Wednesday, September 30.
The volunteers will carry out different tasks according to the season. In spring, the focus is on breeding seabirds and work will involve puffin counts and assisting with boat counts of seabird species.
In summer, the focus moves to chick productivity, while in Autumn the focus is on monitoring grey seals, Skomer Voles, reptiles, cetaceans and moths.
Volunteers receive free accommodation, including bills, on Skomer; travel expenses from within the UK to and from Skomer including car park fees.
Training will also be provided and a £400 bursary is also available from the Friends of Skokholm and Skomer upon completion of a report which will be included in their newsletter.
Long-term volunteers assist with the day-to-day running of the island and support the wardens, visitor officer and field worker with visitor engagement and wildlife monitoring.
They will deliver short welcome talks to day visitors arriving on the island and engage with day visitors as they leave the island.
Other tasks involve assisting with overnight guests, supporting the team with moving luggage and seasonal monitoring of species on Skomer including seabird counts, breeding bird surveys, species mapping and productivity monitoring.
Volunteers will also help with maintenance tasks, cleaning of visitor accommodation and facilities, monthly biosecurity checks, path maintenance and burrow repairs, public engagement and education work and liaising with weekly volunteers.
Successful applicants will be passionate about nature conservation in the UK, have public engagement experience and excellent communication skills as well as high levels of motivation and initiative and experience of working independently and as part of a small close-knit team.
They will need to be willing to work long hours in all weather conditions, willing and able to learn and flexible.
Applications for the long-term volunteer position close on January 31. For more information and to apply, visit www.welshwildlife.org/volunteer-skomer.
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