Osprey volunteers wanted

The Tweed Valley Osprey Project is on the lookout for more volunteers to help with this year's season. Busy behind-the-scenes preparations for viewing equipment and organising volunteers to run the twin visitor centres at Glentress Forest and Kailzie Gardens are now underway. The centres are run by Forestry Commission Scotland and RSPB Scotland and will be featuring live camera links to the famous Osprey nest and a number of other local species, such as Herons and garden birds.

Osprey, Aviemore, Highland (Photo: Steve Round)

Emma Rawling, the project's Osprey Centre Officer, is very keen to attract more volunteers to help out this year and is running a special Osprey Introduction event early in April. She said: "The Tweed Valley Osprey Project has been a great success and much of this is down to the volunteers who help out each year. We want to get more people involved in this important conservation and tourism project so would encourage anyone with an interest to come to the Osprey Introduction day to find out more. We are a diverse group of people, all passionate about nature, who devote time to bring Ospreys and other wildlife to the public. The training is comprehensive and there's a lot of support given- a very warm welcome is guaranteed."

The Osprey Introduction event is being planned on 4th April at the Peebles Drill Hall from 1pm–3.30pm. The session will offer not only basic information about Ospreys but also give an insight into the volunteer's role and how they can help with all the project's events and social activities. The two centres will be open to the public from 6th April.