Volunteers at RPBO

Education & Outreach Team Member

Education & Outreach events and programs are led by RPBO’s Outreach Coordinator, with support from our Development Director.  Events are scheduled throughout the year - weekdays, weekends, daytime, or evenings.  Locations vary from outside at our public banding station in Metchosin or Outerbridge Park in Saanich, to hosting a booth inside at community events throughout the greater Victoria area.   You engage with the public about RPBO’s conservation and education programs.  You will be on a call list for all events - choose only those that you can attend.  School Programs, Public Outreach, Victoria Bird Week.  This role especially suits those with teaching or instructional experience, a love of working with the public, and the willingness to learn from our established team members.  There is plenty of room to learn on the job!

Band Recovery Manager:

Are you one of those tech-savvy individuals? Are you interested in a 'behind the scenes' volunteering opportunity?
RPBO is looking for a Band Recovery Manager:

Introduction - A band recovery occurs when a bird banded by an organization is reported to the banding office. These do not include recaptures of birds previously banded by the organization. Examples of band recoveries include (but are not limited to):
● Birds recaptured at other stations
● Birds taken to wildlife rehabilitation centers
● Dead birds (collisions, predation, etc)
● Birds photographed in the field where the observer manages to take pictures of the band.

Duties - The Band Recovery Manager is responsible for maintaining an electronic record of all band recoveries. This data will be used on the RPBO website as well as in research projects.

Decide on a Repository Storage Mechanism - The Band Recovery Manager is free to design the data repository as they see fit. It must meet the following requirements:
● Easy to load new data into
● Detect duplicates (band number, date).1
● Easy to extract data for research queries
● Easy to extract data for the website

Note: The encounter file does not contain an encounter time so it is theoretically possible to have multiple encounters on the same day. For example a "foreign" NSWO could be captured at PEBA early in the evening and then fly on to Rocky Point later the same night. (While this wouldn't be an encounter we'd record in our repository it is meant to illustrate the possibility. Adding the station could help in checking for duplicates.)

Data Source - The banding office sends a list of encounters to the organization's permit holder. This person is responsible for forwarding the list to the Band Recovery Manager. The lists are in two formats, tab delimited CSV files and pdf format. The tab delimited format is the best to use for loading into the RPBO band recovery repository.

Review and Load Existing Files - There are a number of files in RPBO's Google drive. Some of these have already been loaded into a spreadsheet. The Band Recovery Manager will review the files to ensure the data has been captured. It is important to prevent duplication¹.

Load New Files - As new files are forwarded they should be processed into the repository, ensuring there is no duplication¹.

Update Website - After updating the repository a file should be generated and sent to the webmaster in the format they require.

Documentation - The steps to both load data into the repository and to extract it must be documented.

Time Commitment
● Initial setup and documentation: 5-10 hours
● Updates: 1-3 hours/quarter
● Website update: ½ hour/quarter

If this is something that interests you please contact Mike Motek at mikemotek@gmail.com and he can give you more information.

Coordinator - Community Presentations

RPBO receives many requests from community organizations who want to learn more about birds, their habitats, and their role in our environment. The Rocky Point Bird Observatory Community Presentation initiative exists to offer presentations about birds and bird conservation delivered by knowledgeable speakers.  Upon receipt of a grant, RPBO wrote four presentations and a group of volunteers participated in training for the effective delivery of these presentations, and we have begun to build a database of organizations interested in booking.  Presentations are available for community groups, schools, clubs, and other organizations throughout Greater Victoria and southern Vancouver Island.  The Community Presentations Coordinator will be responsible for the when, where and who of arranging these presentations. Working on your own time, and from your own location, this volunteer opportunity would suit a very organized person, with no reservations about reaching out to others to align schedules. 

Scheduler, Volunteer shifts

We are seeking a dynamic individual to join our team as a Scheduler of Volunteer Shifts. This position plays a critical role in ensuring the smooth operation of our Monitoring Programs and Education & Outreach initiatives.  Volunteers sign up for shifts online through the app When To Help.  But not all shifts get filled in advance.  And that’s where you come in.  The Scheduler will contact members of our existing volunteer corps to fill these vacancies.  The ideal candidate will have strong communication skills and love engaging and speaking with people.   Though email is a tool, this role will involve calling people directly, often on short notice, to fill immediate shifts.  You are persuasive and firm, yet polite and creative in your approach to get the roles filled. We provide the list of names and contact information - you just do the calling!   This role is well suited to those who have flexible spare time, and need/want to work from home.  Time commitment would be a few days of training, and callings would be short but frequent and random throughout the banding season.

Be-A-Better-Birder Course Host

RPBO hosts a variety of in-person and in-field presentations led by subject-matter experts throughout the year, supporting our Outreach efforts in bird monitoring, identification, and conservation. This role collaborates with RPBO Development to coordinate these events, ensuring a seamless experience for both presenters and participants. Be present at the venue on the day of the course.  Responsibilities include assisting with event setup and takedown, managing course materials, signing in attendees, and providing on-site support to help the event run smoothly.