Our visitor centres at Loch of the Lowes (Perthshire) and Montrose Basin (Montrose) are important shop windows for Scottish Wildlife Trust: they are sited in wonderful locations, containing iconic species and have the ability to offer memorable wildlife experiences to local communities and visitors alike. We have had an excellent experience working with EVS volunteers and want to use our expertise in providing employability skills (training and work experience) to young European volunteers to give them an all round, informal, hands on experience. Our project objectives are to: Improve job prospects for our EVS volunteersProvide a quality experience, focussed on the volunteer.Provide opportunities for youth participation in environmental education and environmental protection issues.Provide opportunities for intercultural experiences within a community based visitor centre. We have selected 4 candidates, aged 22-27 from 4 different countries (Malta, Italy, France, Hungary). There are 3 females and 1 male volunteer. Between them they have a range of interests and knowledge and are prepared to volunteer with us for 12 months in order to boost their skills and employability. 1 candidate is facing economic obstacles. In return we are offering a flexible placement, focussed on the individual with the opportunity to get involved with a number of activities:Providing live wildlife interpretation to visitors e.g. in a bird hide, or whilst viewing high definition camera images Providing customer care at reception making visitors feel welcome, and by answering questionsEngaging with the public at events and pre-arranged educational sessionsMarketing the visitor centre such as planning events for the season ahead, working out visitor statisticsUndertaking practical tasks such as helping the locally based ranger with practical reserve tasks around the visitor centre and the wider reserveEngaging with social media to spread the message and publicise wildlife events to our thousands of dedicated followersWorking in the shop area gaining experience in the important retail side of a visitor centre's operationsUndertaking a self study project which will be of value to the volunteer, the host and the partner Taking part in other wider volunteer opportunities such as volunteer programmes on Handa Island or our North Scotland residential programme to further broaden their experience and skills.Cultural experiences such as social events held at the Visitor CentresWe will carefully manage all the practical aspects of the project from start to finish including all necessary pre-placement arrangements, arranging accommodation for volunteers and ensuring they are paid their allowances, kept safe and happy during their placement. All instruction, supervision, tools, and equipment will be provided and all volunteers will receive an induction. We will work to the requirements of the EVS Charter. Time for review of progress and evaluation, reflection on Youthpass activities and feedback on work delivered will be provided. Our qualified and experienced staff and mentors will provide a well supported, friendly and informal working environment, with plenty of opportunity for hands on learning, ideal for the learning and consolidation of new skills. Our placements will be designed for the individual volunteer. After 12 months our volunteers will be much more skilled, experienced and employable, with much stronger English skills and greater cultural awareness. We expect that our placements will be enjoyable, educational and provide an all round experience of our visitor centres, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Scotland as a nation, its wildlife and landscapes. In return we will learn from their approach and through them hope to extend our marketing into Europe. We hope that our partners will also learn from our EVS placements and be encouraged to develop new activities for environmental education and undertake further intercultural exchanges in the future. These longer term benefits will continue beyond the end of the placement.