Corporate Volunteers
You make a difference!
We are hugely grateful to our corporate volunteers. We’re a small team looking after 80 acres of wild bushland, almost 400 animals in care, and all our buildings and equipment.
Volunteers’ time and effort makes it possible for us do what we do for animals, people and “caring for country” in the Aboriginal sense. We also rely on income from visitors and program participants to cover our sanctuary’s operational costs.
Corporate volunteers’ contributions
There are many ways that your organisation can help.
Some organisations want their team to work on the ground with us alongside our team. We always have more work than we have hands and hours in the day, so extra help is usually welcomed. But ours is a complex workplace with risks for animals, people and property, so one-off and short-term volunteers need close supervision to ensure they can work safely in our sanctuary – safely for animals and people. We ask short-term volunteers to pay a fee to contribute to our animals’ care as well as to cover the close supervision needed while working with our team.
Some organisations prefer to be a financial sponsor, or to donate goods or services.
Volunteering at Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park
What a volunteering day might look like
- Example: 6-hour program Day Plan with 4 hours of project work.
| 9:30am | Arrive, gather in carpark until all participants are here. | Walk up to Visitor Centre together. |
| 9:45am | Safety briefing. | Safety for animals and people. |
| 10:00am | Join the Emu and Kangaroo Roundup. | A very Australian take on “the running of the horses” |
| 10:15am-10:45am | A walk around the animal loop with your ranger. | Meet the animals you will be helping. |
| 10:45am | 15-minute break. | Fill up water bottles. |
| 11:00am-1:00pm | Your project work begins. | Collect tools. Safety briefing. Head out to worksite. |
| 1:00pm | Lunch break. Bring a picnic, or we can cater for you. | Choices include Aussie pies or a sausage sizzle. |
| 1:30pm-3:30pm | Your project work continues. | Head back to the worksite. |
| 3:30pm | The workday is done. | Down tools and relax! |
| 3:45pm-5:00pm | Unwind with the animals. Head home when you are ready. | Or you can hire the campsite and stay overnight! |
- Program fee for the sample program described above [valid to 31 March 2025]
- Some organisations donate goods instead of paying a program fee. Ideas for goods we need include project materials (e.g. paint, fencing, tools) and animal supplies (e.g. feed, medications). Please talk to us if you would like to donate goods or services in lieu of a program fee.
| Project and Ranger-led Activities | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6-hour program (no catering) | Up to 15 participants | $1,155 per group |
| More than 15 participants | $77 per person | |
| Optional extras and add-ons | ||
| Walkabout t-shirt | Subject to availability, so please pre-order. Bottle green short sleeved t-shirt with Walkabout logo. OR You are welcome to wear your own shirt. | +$22 per person |
| catering (for whole group) | Sausage sizzle and soft drinks, tea and coffee (up to 15 participants) | +$330 per group |
| Aussie pies and soft drinks, tea and coffee (up to 15 participants) | +$330 per group | |
| More than 15 participants | +$22 per person | |
| private space hire | Day-hire of camp kitchen at campsite with lunchroom-style tables | +$95 |
| Day-hire of barn outdoors on “Animal Loop” with private toilets and cafe-style seating | +$145 | |
| your corporate signage at Walkabout | A 150mm x 250mm plaque with your logo, acknowledging your team’s contribution | +$550 |
| overnight stay | Click this button for information about hiring the campsite | |
- What to Wear & What to Bring
| Item | Best Option (if you have it) | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Colour Recommendation | Dark green, brown/khaki, black | Avoid light colours. You will get dirty! |
| Footwear | Hiking boots or lace-up work-boots with secure ankle support. Steel caps to protect you if you drop something heavy on your foot. | Lace-up non-slip walking shoes suitable for bush-walking. |
| Shirt | Walkabout volunteer t-shirt, dark green, short-sleeved, Walkabout logo, long enough to cover your tummy when you stretch up, high enough to cover your chest when you bend down. | Cotton t-shirt or button-down shirt.
Not permitted: Singlets (sleeveless t-shirts). |
| Pants | Long workman-style pants (the kind with the extra leg pockets). | Long pants required. Jeans are ok. Pants should not be too tight to restrict movement Not permitted: Shorts. |
| Sun protection | Cap or wide-brim hat. Sunglasses. Sunscreen. Water bottle. | Our gift shop (usually) has sunscreen, insect repellent, ibuprofen, paracetamol. |
| Bag & Bits | Small lightweight backpack. Personal medications like headache tablets. Insect repellent. Mobile phone charger. | Have a small bag to just carry what you need while you’re working. That way you don’t have to take all your stuff into the field with you. We can store what you don’t need. |
| Wet Weather Gear (it may rain even when no rain is forecast) | Raincoat that is waterproof (not just water resistant) and covers you at least down to mid thigh. | $5 rain ponchos can be purchased in our gift shop.
Not permitted: Umbrellas (they get stuck on tree branches and blow away in the wind). |
| Cold Weather Gear | Fleece jacket. Fleece sleeveless vest. | Or we recommend “layers” of lightweight clothing so you can remove layers when doing physical work (you can get really hot even on a cold day), and put them back on when you are standing around (you can get cold again really quickly). |
What to do when you arrive
Arrival time
- Arrange for everyone in your group to arrive 20 minutes before your program start time.
Where to park
- If you will have 5 or fewer cars, park in the main carpark (drive in through the main gate with the animals painting).
- If you will have more than 5 cars, park in the outside carpark (to the left and right of the drive just OUTSIDE the main gate).
- If you arrive by bus, ask your bus-driver to park the bus on Darkinjung Road after they have dropped everyone off.
What to do with your stuff
- So there is no delay getting the day started, please have only those things that you will need in the field already pre-packed into a separate bag (water, sunscreen, insect repellent, hat, sunglasses, personal medications).
- Either leave your other gear in your car, or have the bag ready to hand in at reception for safe-keeping before your program starts.
- You will be able to get your bag from reception during the day if you need it.
What to do next
- One person in your group (the contact person for the day) should either walk up to reception, or phone us from the carpark, to let us know you have started to arrive.
- Everyone should wait in the carpark for everyone else to arrive. This is because you may only enter the sanctuary after you have had a safety briefing, and the safety briefing is best given to the group, rather than one-one-one.
- When everyone has arrived, walk up to reception together.
- If it is 10 minutes to your program start-time and someone has not yet arrived, let us know. Usually, we would get everyone who is already on-site to head to reception at 10 minutes to start-time, and brief the late-comers when they get here.
Group Volunteering Enquiry
Group Volunteering
2-day projects
Groups of 5 or more. Projects are designed for teams wanting to leave a legacy. Projects usually involve building or fixing something, so the team finishes the day with something tangible that they have achieved, that they can ‘own’.