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Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park is a private zoo located in Calga, New South Wales, approximately 1 hour's drive north of Sydney.

This information is taken from their website

http://www.walkaboutpark.com.au/index.php

Introduction[]

At Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park you can visit the friendliest wild Aussie animals, with over 180 species roaming free and happy in the bush.

Nowhere else can you get up close and personal with so many of the friendliest wild animals in Australia.

Get a personal introduction to Australia's iconic species. Meet a red kangaroo, a grey kangaroo, a wallaroo, emu, wallaby, pademelon, wombat, koala, python, dragon, turtle, possum, lizard, flying fox or dingo, and lots lots more.

The animals have as much fun as the people do. Except for a handful that have special needs, they all roam free and safe through a fox-proofed bush sanctuary.


Volunteering[]

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A WALKABOUT PARK VOLUNTEER[]

  • Aged 14 to 114
  • Physically fit
  • Own transport
  • Able to commit to regular shifts, at least 2 per fortnight
  • Reliability, the team depends on each other, and the animals depend on the team
  • Volunteers need to be as dedicated as our full time rangers


THE PROGRAM[]

New volunteers can expect to spend 10 to 20 days in orientation, learning the general Walkabout Park duties including visitor, animal and bush care, from food preparation and general cleaning to animal enrichment activities and habitat restoration.

Once orientation training is complete, each volunteer will sit down with one of the managers to agree their role going forward. Although everyone is expected to help everyone else, and most volunteers are expected to be 'generalists', as we grow our volunteer program we expect that there will be some specialised roles available.

Some examples of specialised roles are:


  • Bush and path management
  • Habitat restoration and care
  • Animal enrichment activities - specific to different species
  • Animal behaviour management eg birds, dingoes and others
  • Food preparation - animals
  • Food preparation - café
  • Shop management
  • Building maintenance
  • General cleaning - outdoors
  • General cleaning - indoors


You may have a friend or a group of friends who want to work together and car-pool. Perhaps you would like to run the café over lunch time a couple of days per week. Or maybe you want to clean out the koala or the dingo enclosures early each morning. Whatever your interests, there is likely to be a place for you on the team!

This is a great way to make new friends, explore new interests and learn new skills. Do you already have skills and knowledge about the Australian environment, and you want a place to apply them in a practical sense? Are you looking to get valuable experience in nature conservation because of career aspirations? Would you like to contribute to environmental conservation at a practical hands-on level? Do you want to be a part of educating people on our animals and the bush? Or do you just like physical work outside in the clear open air?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then the Walkabout Park Volunteer Programme is what you need.

Demand for places on the Walkabout Park volunteer team is higher than the places available, so you will need to go through a recruitment process. Successful applicants will be contacted by Walkabout Park. Once accepted, membership may be limited to 6 months or 1 year and, in any event, you will be asked to make some committments to retain your place on the team.

To be an Australia Walkabout Park Volunteer, you must:[]

  • Be 14 years old or over - in some circumstances we may consider under 18s with parent/guardian's consent
  • Be genuinely interested in wildlife and conservation.
  • Be genuinely interested in the Australian bush and wildlife habitat
  • Join as a member, on completion of training.
  • Be prepared to commit 2 days or more per month to the programme for a minimum of 6 months
  • Be reasonably fit and ready to do work that can be physically demanding including lifting and bending
  • Be prepared to work outside in all weather conditions
  • Have your own transport
  • Have a current 1st Aid Certificate (which you can arrange via your local St John’s Ambulance Association or the Red Cross)
  • Register for volunteer's personal accident insurance prior to commencing work - the cost is around $10 for 6 months (you will need to arrange this through Walkabout Park)
  • Attend scheduled training sessions
  • Be prepared to work alongside the permanent team, doing whatever is necessary for the good running of the park
  • Must have tetanus shot up to date



As a trained Australia Walkabout Park Volunteer, you can expect to be involved in some of the following activities:[]

  • Animal care (Most of our animals are free-roaming so require a different kind of care to zoo animals)
  • Natural habitat development and conservation
  • Constructed habitat maintenance
  • Cleaning exhibits
  • Food preparation and feeding
  • Visitor education
  • Animal and bush demonstrations
  • Music (Do you play the didgeridoo or other Aboriginal musical instruments? Would you like to try to learn how?)
  • Talks on Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park to outside groups, clubs, etc
  • Children’s programs
  • Education, marketing and sponsorship pack production
  • Café, visitor centre and shop-floor customer service
  • BBQs and catering
  • Building and park facilities maintenance
  • Path construction
  • Fox-proof fencing maintenance



As an integral part of the Walkabout Park team, our volunteers must be reliable and failure to attend during rostered times and to work according to team standards will result in the rexonsideration of your position as a volunteer.


Interested in becoming a Volunteer?[]

If you would like to be considered for our volunteer programme: Click here to download a PDF of our volunteer information and application pack

Mail your completed application to: The Volunteer Program Coordinator, Walkabout Park, cnr Peats Ridge & Darkinjung Roads, Calga, NSW 2250

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