Work Experience at Surrey Wildlife Trust
We offer a bespoke work experience programme aimed to give students the opportunity to gain a variety of skills and experience across different areas of the Trust’s work and get a taste of multiple career options within the conservation sector. Work experience students will be immersed in the Surrey Wildlife Trust team alongside fellow students on the programme for an enjoyable and inspiring week. They will gain skills and experience with different teams throughout the Trust, covering practical conservation, environmental education/outreach and wildlife surveying.
Dates
We are offering work experience placements on the following dates in 2026:
- Monday 29th June – Friday 3rd July (term-time)
- Monday 27th July – Friday 31st July (summer holidays)
Programme structure
Our work experience programme schedule, subject to change:
Monday: induction and group introductions, followed by wildlife surveying and citizen science activities. Location TBC, likely in the Guildford or Woking area.
Tuesday: supporting our Education Team to run a Nature Discovery Day for primary school groups at our Education Centre, near Leatherhead. Activities include supporting the delivery of pond dipping and minibeast safari.
Wednesday: supporting practical habitat management tasks on one of our heathland reserves in the West of the county, Wisley Common (near Woking).
Thursday: supporting practical habitat management tasks on one of our chalk grassland reserves in the East of the county, Quarry Hanger (Bletchingly).
Friday: supporting practical habitat management tasks on one of our woodland reserves in Central Surrey, Cucknell’s Wood (near Shamley Green).
Logistics
Support: You will be accompanied throughout the week by our work experience coordinator, as well as other staff members throughout the Trust who will provide safety briefings, instructions and guidance.
Transport: We can collect and drop off work experience students at Guildford station and drive them the rest of the way to and from site in our minibus. Alternatively, students can be dropped off and collected on site. Please note, sites will be varied throughout the county. In your application you will need to specify if you need a lift in our minibus as spaces are limited and will need to be booked in advance.
Facilities: Please note, most of our reserves don’t have access to toilet facilities on site.
Timings: Most days will start at 10am and run until 3pm, excluding travel time to and from site if using our minibus.
What to bring and wear: You should wear comfortable clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty as well as suitable shoes (walking boots or wellies). We recommend covering your legs to avoid tick bites, so suggest wearing trousers. You will need to bring along your own lunch but we will provide tea, coffee and biscuits. Please also ensure you are ready for any weather (waterproofs, suncream, sunhat etc.).
How to apply
To apply for work experience at Surrey Wildlife Trust please complete our application form and email it to our Communities Team at volunteers@surreywt.org.uk by Sunday 22nd February.
If you require this application form in an alternative format or if you need adjustments to complete it due to accessibility needs, please get in touch.
Please note, spaces are limited, so we are unfortunately unable to guarantee a space for everyone who applies. We will be in touch shortly after the closing date to let you know if we are able to offer you a place.
I have built a stronger understanding of nature through this work experience as I am now aware of how vastly different wildlife can be in just one county and how important it all is. Before this week I felt less comfortable in nature because of animals like spiders and snakes; however, through being exposed to these animals I can now appreciate them because I understand their important role in habitats. Therefore, I am now more comfortable in nature. I also liked how different each day was as it has shown me the wide variety of jobs and roles in conservation, such as education jobs and more practical roles.
I have enjoyed learning about the different roles within the Surrey Wildlife Trust. I found it helpful to talk to the different people running each day and to find out how they got to where they are through university or previous jobs. My favourite parts of the work experience was looking at the marsh club moss and sundews and how to identify them and other plants in heathland and chalk grassland areas. I also enjoyed the identification for butterflies and looking for snakes and slow worms. It was interesting to see the different environments around Surrey. I also liked that each day was different so we can see different types of jobs and areas within conservation.
Work experience enquiries
Email volunteers@surreywt.org.uk
Call 01483 795464
Thinking about working with wildlife?
Get a flavour of what the world of work is like, whilst making a real difference to your local environment.
Our work experience placements provide a great opportunity to learn new skills, meet like-minded people and decide whether a job in the conservation sector is for you.