Days per week: March-September, or part of this period
Short/long term: 5 days per week
Paid/voluntary: Paid
Our seasonal positions are extremely competitive and generally attract pre/post-MSc ecology or entomology students. The positions offer fantastic opportunities for students/early-career naturalists to get into the world of applied entomology/invertebrate zookeeping/ecology/nature recovery/outreach in a busy and vibrant visitor attraction and research centre.
To register your interest, please send us an e-mail or cover letter, detailing why you would like to volunteer with us, and a CV to info@thebugfarm.co.uk
Application deadline: Applications accepted year-round, but we usually fill these roles by the end of February each year at the latest.
Days per week: Flexible – usually from March-October
Short/long term: Flexible
Paid/voluntary: Unpaid – volunteer positions
We are often able to offer fantastic opportunities for students/early-career naturalists to get into the world of applied entomology/invertebrate zookeeping/ecology/nature recovery/outreach in a busy and vibrant visitor attraction and research centre.
Click here for an example of the volunteer role description.
To register your interest, please send us an e-mail or cover letter, detailing why you would like to volunteer with us, and a CV to info@thebugfarm.co.uk
Application deadline: Rolling deadlines.
Days per week: Flexible
Short/long term: Usually 9 months (shorter placements also available)
Paid/voluntary: Unpaid – volunteer positions
Each year, we work with universities to host up to three Year in Research/Industry students and up to two shorter-term student placements. We are often able to offer fantastic opportunities for students/early-career naturalists to get into the world of applied entomology/invertebrate zookeeping/ecology/nature recovery/outreach in a busy and vibrant visitor attraction and research centre. We also run weekly conservation/land management volunteering sessions.
While we work directly with universities on these placements, we can also arrange placements directly with interested students. To register your interest, please send us an e-mail or cover letter, detailing why you would like to work with us, and a CV to info@thebugfarm.co.uk
Application deadline: Rolling deadlines.
Grub Kitchen regularly has seasonal positions available for front of house and kitchen staff. Please e-mail info@grubkitchen.co.uk for more information.
We also have the following research opportunities available. These projects would suit students carrying out undergraduate, MSc or PhD research or students/early career scientists wanting to take on an independent research project to gain experience in the field and build their CV. Dr Beynon did this instead of doing a MSc before doing her doctorate!
Research project
Project title: Marsh fritillary butterfly reintroduction
Approximate duration: TBC
Dates: Flexible
Suitable for: PhD or possibly MSc project, or both
Paid/voluntary: Unpaid – we would be happy to look into funding opportunities with you and a university supervisor
This is part of a wider project looking at bringing back the marsh fritillary butterfly to the St Davids peninsula in 2026. More information on the background to the project can be found at the following project pages: Bringing Back the Marsh Fritillary to the St Davids Peninsula, Connecting the Commons and Common Connections.
We would like to develop a programme of research around a potential marsh fritillary butterfly reintroduction to the St Davids peninsula. While we would encourage students to develop their own programme of research around the project, we are especially interested in questions related to metapopulation dynamics.
Click here for more information on the research project.
We have a number of long-term conservation and research fieldwork experiments running and are interested in finding students who may like to carry out their research projects on them. These include:
All roles are offered to people aged 18yrs+. We have a small number of work experience placements available each year for young people, for which there is usually a waiting list. If you are interested in work experience, please send us an e-mail to express interest.
Dr Beynon may be able to separately offer subsidised accommodation in a (beautiful) shared staff/student house St Davids for a small number of staff/volunteers/students. If you are interested in accommodation, please get in touch with sarah@thebugfarm.co.uk as soon as possible and we will give you more information, as spaces are extremely limited.