Nature Matters volunteers make a flying start!
We have recently welcomed a number of new volunteers to the Yorkshire and North East Film Archive team, to work on our National Lottery Heritage Fund project, Nature Matters. They bring an exciting range of skills and experience and will be undertaking various roles to make our collections more visible and accessible to audiences.
The volunteers recently spent an afternoon in the archives at York with the wider Yorkshire Film Archive team, learning about the history of film and the different formats we hold, from 8mm to video and 9.5mm to digital, before having a go at splicing film and using our Steenbeck machines to watch some content. The day ended with a tour of the vaults to see just a small section of the 70,000 titles we hold, dating as far back as 130 years!
Keep an eye out on our Nature Matters page to see some of the work that the volunteers will be up to, and if you would like to get involved we would love to hear from you.
Get involved: we have a number of volunteer opportunities available with our current Nature Matters project
* Social Media Assistant: Aiding in creating Nature Matters content and distributing it via social media.
* Events Volunteer: Assisting in film screenings and other events which we will be hosting in different areas around the region.
* Film Researcher: Researching our nature-related films in order to add new context and information to the catalogue records.
We also have two exciting projects that are looking volunteers:
* TikTok and the Archive project: As part of Nature Matters, we are interested in exploring how we can engage new audiences through digital and social platforms, especially younger audiences. We're looking for volunteers to investigate archives that are on TikTok and explore whether YFA should have a presence on this film-based social media platform.
* Digital Online Exhibitions project: YFA already have a presence on Google Arts and Culture online platform, and we are looking to add a number of new Nature Matters exhibitions to the site. In this project you will choose themes for your own online mini-exhibitions and use our collections to put together a piece of work that you think will engage audiences.
All roles can be done remotely or within the archive, apart from events volunteering which will require being present at set times when events are occurring. You will also receive support from the archive team throughout your time volunteering, and commitment is flexible depending on the role. We are also committed to supporting any access requirements you may have in order to complete your volunteering with us.
More information
Email the Nature Matters team, Alexandra Haley (a.haley@yorksj.ac.uk) or Martha Cattell (m.cattell@yorksj.ac.uk) for a volunteer pack with full role descriptions and to have an informal chat about what volunteer role you might be interested in.
If a phone call is preferable please ring and ask for Martha or Alexandra: 01904 876550
