Become a Seal Warden
Another way you can help is by volunteering to become a seal warden. There is always a turnover of wardens due to changing circumstances and some moving away from the area so we are continually recruiting new wardens to replace them. With the growing size of the colony and an increasing number of visitors each year, we need to make sure we have enough wardens to cover our rota.
You can contact us to register your interest in becoming a warden at any time or respond to our recruitment campaign in July. You will need to attend one of our pre-season training workshops in late summer before starting. If you are interested in finding out more please email recruitment@friendsofhorseyseals.co.uk.
What We Do With Your Donations
As a small charity, Friends of Horsey Seals depends entirely on the income we receive through our ‘Friends’ subscription scheme, from your generous donations, and grants from a number of funding organisations which help us to pay for major projects. Our charity’s main objective is to be able to protect the breeding colony of grey seals at Horsey and Winterton long into the future.
While our dedicated team of volunteer wardens give their time freely, we use a large percentage of the funds we receive to enable our wardens to do their vital work. This includes insurances, two-way radios while on duty, hi-viz vests, handbooks, training, first aid supplies and health and welfare support are essential to enable our volunteers to go about their wardening duties safely. Another substantial cost is operating the FoHS Rescue Team and their 4WD rescue vehicles, used for frequent trips to the RSPCA Wildlife Hospital at East Winch, to transport sick and injured seals for treatment and rehabilitation. Our rescuers need specialist equipment like stretchers, nets, pig boards and a mobile phone for operational and emergency calls about seals. We also fund the Seal Count team during the pupping season.
Site Management
Another responsibility is site management at Horsey and Winterton. Every year we buy and replace large quantities of rope, posts and signs. This work ensures a safe viewing experience for visitors whilst also protecting seals from disturbance and conserving the environment and stability of the dunes. The number of people coming to see this amazing wildlife spectacle now exceeds 120,000 a year.
Other ongoing costs include running our website, which is constantly evolving and being improved, and our dedicated on-line rota and communication system for wardens. Finally, we need to allow for professional fees, bank charges, public liability insurance and other basic administrative costs.
