Plymouth Sound National Marine Park: Streamlining volunteer management to reach 100,000 volunteer hours

Introduction

Plymouth Sound National Marine Park (PSNMP) is dedicated to connecting communities with Plymouth’s rich marine environment and heritage. Volunteers play a crucial role in delivering a diverse programme of beach cleans, citizen science surveys, heritage tours, and public engagement events.

Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the five-year project aims to deliver 100,000 volunteer hours over five years, contributing to conservation, education, and community engagement across multiple partner sites.

With Rosterfy, PSNMP offers a seamless volunteer experience, making it easier to manage profiles, training, compliance, and communications, while freeing the team to focus on delivering impact and growing their volunteer community.

The Challenge

Before Rosterfy, the team relied on spreadsheets and email chains to coordinate volunteers, making it time-consuming to track DBS checks, training, and safeguarding compliance. This manual approach placed a heavy administrative burden on a small team and limited the programme’s ability to scale. Implementing a dedicated volunteer management software was the natural next step.

The Solution

While accessibility and compliance were top priorities, PSNMP selected Rosterfy as their volunteer management software for its ability to manage a dispersed volunteer base and support both one-off and ongoing roles.

Rosterfy gives PSNMP the ability to:

• Schedule volunteers with ease across multiple partner sites and events

• Centralise data and compliance, tracking DBS checks, training, and safeguarding requirements

• Offer an inclusive volunteer experience, with role-specific training and e-learning

• Automate administrative tasks, freeing staff capacity to focus on impact

The Impact

A better experience for volunteers

PSNMP volunteers have quickly embraced Rosterfy, finding it easy to use, with personalised dashboards making the system feel tailored to each person. Structured onboarding, e-learning modules, and clear role pathways mean volunteers start each opportunity feeling informed and confident.

The mobile app is already being used by more than half of the volunteer cohort, giving convenient access to those without regular computer access and keeping everyone connected and engaged.

Expanding inclusive and accessible volunteering

Rosterfy is helping PSNMP diversify its volunteer programme, with new at-home roles, flexible opportunities, and clearer pathways that make it easier for more people across the city to get involved.

In partnership with Improving Lives Plymouth, the team has redesigned the volunteer handbook and onboarding process to put accessibility and inclusion at the forefront. From beach cleans to heritage work and community events, volunteers can now contribute in ways that suit their lifestyle, skills, and confidence.

Building for the future

With thousands of volunteer hours already delivered and a growing, highly engaged community, PSNMP is well on its way to its ambitious 100,000-hour goal.

Rosterfy continues to play a central role—enhancing accessibility, streamlining communication, and enabling the team to deliver meaningful impact across Plymouth’s marine environment.