Duke of Edinburgh Award volunteering

We have a fantastic project that you can help with for your D of E volunteering: the Oxfordshire Doorstep Nature Project. You can do this project mainly from home or school, and join in some of the training trips to nature reserves in Oxford over the time you are volunteering.

If we are going to protect nature we need to recognise it and map it. There are fantastic online identification and mapping tools that we can use to do this. You can help by adding to the species mapping in Oxfordshire by learning to use the tools and using them in your day to day activities around home, school and leisure time around Oxfordshire. It’s easy and fun and opens your eyes to what is around you every day, in the city, the park or the countryside.

You can sign up for our Oxfordshire Doorstep Nature Project for your D of E volunteering, or other activity. Sign up below, or email kim.polgreen@oxfordearthacademy.org for more details and to let us know you are interested.

We will hold training days through the year and you can progress in your own time. We will be able to see your observations on the map and to sign off your contribution for DofE or other schemes.

Training and check in days

The 2026 training days are on the following dates and times. Its good to attend one when you start and then you can attend as many as you like. You need to bring a parent or other chaperone, and the whole family and friends are welcome.

  • Saturday 28th February 11:00 - 12:30 at Burgess Field Nature Reserve, accessed from Port Meadow via Aristotle Lane. Meet at the gate at the southern end of the reserve at 11am. https://maps.app.goo.gl/L8dznBCHLTSVjfVr7. An introduction to the project and the use of the apps. Looking for signs of spring

  • Sunday 15th March 11:00 - 12:30. Wytham Woods. Meet at the main car park accessed from Wytham village. https://maps.app.goo.gl/w1FHPo2T4MYFP7T67 Looking at how the vegetation and insect life is changing as a season progresses. Help with using the apps if needed. Introducing the use of nature identification guides to check nature sightings. Using the Merlin bird song ID app.

  • Saturday 11th April 10:00 - 11:30. Location Wytham Woods. Meet at the main car park accessed from Wytham village. https://maps.app.goo.gl/w1FHPo2T4MYFP7T67 . We’ll set up a moth trap the night before and we can see what moths we get.

Set yourself up

You will need a smartphone and a data allowance (and permission from the bill payer).

1.      Download the Seek by iNaturalist app. Seek does not record any data about you or your location.

2.      Open the iNaturalist website or download the iNaturalist app and make an account (for 13 years old and above – otherwise an adult needs to have the account).

3.      Sign up for the Oxfordshire Doorstep Nature Project on iNaturalist via the app or website.

4.       Email us with your name and school, and iNaturalist username.

Making observations

Practice making observations using Seek. When you feel confident, you can upload them to iNaturalist as you make them, using the ”upload to iNaturalist” button (It only appears when you first make the observation; you may need to scroll down to see it). Or upload observations later from the iNaturalist app or website, from the photos stored on your phone, and add the geo location for each from the photo. You will see your observations join others on the project map in iNaturalist. We will look at them together at the monthly Wytham meet ups. You can find the same species multiple times in different locations and on different dates.

Your survey approach

You can decide how you want to do your surveys. You can be random about it and just add what you see wherever you are. Or you might want to focus on a particular area such as your garden or local park and survey it every week to see changes over time. You could focus on a set of particular species or try and find all the species in that space. You can discuss your approach on a training day at Wytham. You should document your approach on your activity sheet. You can change your approach through the project, as all observations are useful.

Getting your contribution signed off

Keep a record of the time you have put into the project each week, and make some notes on what you have done, and submit it for sign off when you are ready. From volunteers, we are looking for over 100 sightings per student over three months. Skills people will have an assessment at the end of the three months. We suggest you use the official DofE form.

sign up

If you would like to sign up, please complete the form below. It needs input from the student and their parent/guardian.

Contact

If you have any questions please email kim.polgreen@oxfordearthacademy.org