Great news for all Australians looking to take part in conservation volunteering once regional and/or interstate travel is allowed. The Oceans 2 Earth Aussie Bush Conservation Safari project is going to re-open to Australian inter-state and local volunteers following what will be 4 month period without any international assistance. For many of our projects, volunteers are absolutely essential and much of the ongoing research, habitat and wildlife monitoring, rehabilitation and conservation efforts cannot be undertaken without the much-needed help of dedicated animal and wildlife volunteers who support Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers projects in Australia and abroad.
Spare a thought for the carers and rangers
For the Aussie Bush Conservation Safari project, this opening will be a welcome relief for the long-term carers and rangers who have been working 10 times as hard as usual without any international wildlife volunteers to assist them in everyday essential tasks around the wetland reserve.
Your contribution as a volunteer
This unique and comprehensive volunteering project is every nature-lovers dream. Experience working in the distinctive Australian bush where you’ll discover an array of landscapes including dry savannahs, wetland swamps and lush eucalypt forests. Most of the time is spent in the wetland reserve where volunteers participate in applied conservation management, wildlife and habitat monitoring and ongoing research. There can be between 5 and 40 animals in the shelter including possums, birds, gliders, reptiles, aquatic species and various mammals. Volunteers engage in activities to care for and assist in the rehabilitation of some of Australia’s most iconic wildlife by feeding and watering the animals, providing enrichment and assisting in their release back into the wild.
An important focus of this project is the protection and management of threatened or endangered species in the wetland reserve. Volunteers learn and apply some of the common methodologies to monitor such species which is advantageous for conservation biology interns or undergraduates. Methods range from setting and checking camera traps, photo-point monitoring, behavioural observations and others.
Accommodation in the wilderness
During your experience in the wetland reserve volunteers stay in comfortable safari-style canvas tents. You are in and amongst all the action with all types of wildlife who use the shade on the tents during the day to cool themselves. And in the evening relax on the decking with the sound of birdlife creating a tranquil and ambient setting to finish off your busy day.
Aussies help Aussies
Following on from your time volunteering in the wetland reserve, spend some time in Cairns and soak up the tropical lifestyle. Reward yourself by spending a few days before or after volunteering to wine and dine in Cairns restaurants, taking a boat to the Great Barrier Reef’s Outer Reef section or browsing the local crafts and produce.
How you can get involved
Following this tough time for everyone, it is important to do something that is challenging and comforting to your soul. If these activities sound like the perfect way to relieve you of your lockdown blues, then sign up to the Aussie Bush Conservation Safari project today and start planning for travel to Queensland in July.
If you have any queries regarding our covid-19 action plan, the future of volunteering, our project or otherwise, then do not hesitate to visit our website or contact us at volunteer@oceans2earth.org.
Travel with Purpose!
Written by Megan Cundy, Writer for Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers
