PLACEMENTS

Placements are available all year, but the type of work varies greatly, depending on the time of year you are with us. It is in your best interests to choose the time of year best suited to your own particular needs or requirements. Work placements are usually available for a minimum of two weeks (although one week placements may be considered) and up to a maximum of two months in most cases. Candidates applying for a placement of longer than one month may be required to attend for an interview prior to their placement being confirmed. Placements usually start on a Monday, and finish on a Sunday, with one day off during the week.

Candidates wishing to participate must be 18 years of age or over. Our insurers set these conditions due to the nature of the work and the fact that seals are classed as ‘dangerous animals’.

WORK SCHEDULE

September - March

The winter season involves a great deal of time spent in the hospital, caring for rescued seal pups. Your duties will include:-

*Please note that seals are aggressive wild animals, therefore, whilst every effort is made to include volunteers in the ‘hands-on’ work we do with pups, our first priority is the safety of all persons on the work experience scheme, and such assistance may be limited.

March - September

During the summer season, the work is based around our resident adult grey seals, the two species of sealion that we look after and our two Asian short-clawed otters, as well as our other resident animals. Your duties may include:-

The work at both times of year is equally demanding. If you are interested in animal behaviour studies, you would benefit more from joining us in the summer months, as environmental enrichment studies are carried out at this time of year. If you are more interested in rehabilitation or veterinary skills, the winter time would be more suitable for you. However, please bear in mind that much of the work involves getting dirty and smelling of fish - an unavoidable fact of life when working with seals!

ACCOMMODATION

The Sanctuary is unable to provide accommodation during work placements. However, we can recommend a reasonably priced farmhouse Bed and Breakfast at Polglase Farm, which is approximately two miles from the Sanctuary. If you do not have your own car, we can usually make arrangements to pick you up from this address. Please contact Mrs. Tomkins on 01326 340273 for further details, and to make a booking once your placement has been confirmed.

TRANSPORT

The Sanctuary is located at Gweek, a very small village on the Helford estuary. As you can imagine, public transport in these parts is fairly limited. The nearest train stations to the Sanctuary are at Truro, Camborne and Redruth. For volunteers staying at Polglase Farm, we can usually make arrangements for you to be picked up in the morning at 7.50am. However, if you are staying elsewhere, you will, unfortunately, have to make your own way to the Sanctuary. If at all possible, we do recommend that you bring your own car if you have one, as Gweek is very isolated. The village does however have a shop, and a pub that serves food.

CLOTHING

Clothing should be warm and comfortable, including Wellington’s, and waterproofs. We do have a uniform here, and will provide sweatshirts and polo shirts for you during your placement. We do request that your trousers be of a dark colour - preferably navy blue. Additionally, especially in the summer months, the Sanctuary has a lot of visitors every day and for this reason, we require that all persons working at the Sanctuary be reasonably presentable at all times.

OTHER INFORMATION

The working day at the Sanctuary starts at 8.00am, and we would ask that you report to the hospital at this time on your first day. The hospital can be found by going through the main gate and following the lane uphill; it is on the left-hand side at the top of the hill.

The Sanctuary’s cafe serves a limited selection of snacks, which are available at a staff discount. Hot drinks are provided free of charge.

Finally, if it is felt that a person on the work placement scheme is not working within the guidelines set out by the Animal Care Team and may therefore be:-

1.   A danger to themselves or others, or
2.   Taking the place of a more suitable candidate

The work placement co-ordinator reserves the right to terminate the placement at any time.


To complete the "Voluntary Work Placement / Experience Application form" click here


SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER ENQUIRIES, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT CLARE McGOWAN, THE WORK PLACEMENT CO-ORDINATOR, on 01326 221361 or write to us at...The National Seal Sanctuary, Gweek, near Helston, Cornwall TR12 6UG, England, or send an E-mail