NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service — WIRES — needs volunteers on the lower north shore
WIRES volunteers are desperately needed on Sydney’s lower north shore and many may not realise it is possible to help out if you work full time and living in a small apartment.
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THE NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service — WIRES — urgently needs more volunteers on the lower north shore.
The not-for-profit organisation is struggling to cope with the number of native animals requiring care.
WIRES has two volunteers in Mosman and one in Cammeray.
WIRES volunteer and northern beaches branch chairwoman Edwina Laginestra said it would great if there were more volunteers in the area.
Ms Laginestra said this would help share the load with volunteers who were travelling from as far as Mona Vale and Bilgola to do call-outs on the lower north shore.
“We don’t have that many rescuers in Mosman or North Sydney,” she said.
“I’m coming from Freshwater to do some of them but I’m also caring, so it’s really hard to do the two.
“Because we do have carers, a lot of rescuers drop the animals off to vets or carers to get them to the release stage.
“So rescues or releases are what we would really love more people to do.”
Ms Laginestra is caring for 15 animals at the moment.
She said volunteers even cared for animals while living in apartments and working full time.
Carers then passed animals on to other volunteers with bigger spaces when the animals grew bigger.
“The little bandicoot you can keep in a tub; you don’t need an aviary,” Ms Laginestra said.
“It’s the same with baby birds; they’re perfect for someone in a unit.
“When they are big enough, other carers have aviaries and you pass them on.”
Common animals in care include possums, rainbow lorikeets, magpies and tawny frogmouths.
Rarer species include pygmy possums, sugar gliders and the sacred kingfisher.
Ms Laginestra said Mosman’s beautiful leafy environment contributed to the number of jobs in the area.
“We are still getting calls to rescue animals, so people do care,” she said.
“If people do love doing rescues, then the caring is absolutely fascinating, because you’re learning so much about how an animal responds or what they are normally like or what they need.”
Volunteers must complete training and licensing to care for wildlife.
The next WIRES Rescue and Immediate Care Course is at Belrose on Sunday and costs $175. Email training@wires.org.au or visit wires.org.au for more information.
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