Volunteer with Wildlife Care in Adelaide | Adelaide Koala & Wildlife Centre
Volunteer with Wildlife in Adelaide – Join Our Caring Team Supporting Native Animals
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Our Centre relies on a team of dedicated friendly, engaged volunteers to support the work we do, giving up their time on a regular and committed basis. The role they play in keeping our Centre running is highly valued and appreciated.
Learn more about what we do at our clinic and read about our services - click here
What sort of tasks do our volunteers do?
Some tasks include cleaning of animal enclosures, animal food preparation (as per AKAWC guidelines), setting up animal enclosures and domestic tasks such as washing and mopping floors, laundry, gardening and other duties as required. Some of these tasks can be repetitive and not that exciting but very necessary to ensure our vet clinic runs smoothly and to a high standard. A love of cleaning is a must because you will be doing a lot of it!!
Our clinic is small and our goal is always to treat the patient when they come in and if required, admit for further vet treatment - just like any vet that treats a cat or dog!! We do not keep our patients for any length of time, so you may find that some days there are not many patients in the clinic or patients are arriving for consults only and discharged with their carer. It's important that potential volunteers understand that some days you will have less animal husbandry and more of the laundry, gardening and domestic chores. Our goal is to get wildlife back to the wild ASAP.
As the animals we treat are wild, the direct contact you have with them will be minimal in order to ensure they can be returned to the wild with as little human intervention as possible. This is for the safety of the animals and for you. Wildlife patients are often stressed and scared so that is why we do not allow handling or patting.
We are not an animal sanctuary or a zoo but a vet clinic for the sick and injured wildlife of Adelaide.
What we need in a volunteer:
- You will be expected to commit to a minimum of 1 shift per week ( 3-4 hours) so you are kept up to date with the Centre. We also expect a 12 month ongoing commitment to the volunteer program. If you believe you can't commit to this volunteering requirement, we kindly request you do not apply.
- AM shifts start at 10am and PM shifts start at 1pm. The shift will generally be 3-4 hours. You will need to work the whole shift with your fellow volunteers.
- Weekend shifts are available though there is a requirement that you must be able to do a few morning and afternoon shifts during the week to learn the procedures before working on the weekend.
- You must be over the age of 18 years of age to volunteer with us. Regrettably, there are no exceptions to this age limit.
Please note - we cannot accept short term volunteers who may be visiting Adelaide (eg. here for a week or a few months) due to our training requirements, rostering needs and need for continuity with our volunteers. We hope you understand and we appreciate your interest in our precious wildlife.
One way to help out is by donations. You can read about how to financially donate and make a one-off difference.
See our Donation Page
What is the next step for applying to be a volunteer?
We can send you an application form upon request by you (email below). It will cover the role in more detail and give you details on getting a police check if you don't have a current one. Frequently there will be a delay in bringing volunteers on board as we may have enough volunteers and there is a wait until a position arises. We appreciate your patience and rest assured we will contact you should a position arises based on the availability you will list in the application form.
We will need a police check prior to starting with us.
Will you be able to gain employment with AKAWC as part of volunteering?
Our volunteers are an essential part of our mission and community. While volunteering provides a rewarding experience and opportunities to develop new skills, it does not serve as a pathway to employment within AKAWC. There is no clinical work as part of the volunteer role.
I can't volunteer for a shift but can I help in another way?
Yes! We have volunteers who choose to help in other but very important ways. Providing native leaf and flowers is always needed and we love this! Also some volunteers choose items from the Wish List and donate them (or source them from local supermarkets who are likely to throw this produce out). We have volunteers who fundraise on our behalf and we are always seeking individuals who want to contribute in this way to our clinic. Just let us know your ideas!
Email: [email protected]
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