SOWFI places a high priority on evidence-based research and the equitable and fair treatment of our volunteers. Additionally, awareness of the growing literature regarding the health risks that wildlife volunteers may experience such as compassion fatigue, burn out and trauma, SOWFI wanted to learn more about how these health risks affect our volunteers and how we can further support each other.
The ‘Caring for Carers’ Project Facilitators undertook a needs analysis, including meeting with SOWFI members, reading past online posts by SOWFI members, discussing with other wildlife organisations, and consulting literature that discussed the needs of wildlife volunteers. The prioritised need was identified as the development of a resource and training to improve the community’s knowledge of health risks, such as compassion fatigue and burnout, and how to manage these.
Background
‘Caring for Carers’ was a Participatory Community Practice project facilitated by 4th-year Occupational Therapy students Joshua Kelleher and Ngan Van from the University of South Australia. The aim of the project was to develop the sustainability of wildlife volunteers by promoting health and wellbeing.
The project was proposed in 2019 and completed in 2021, and had a focus on identifying the specific risks that SOWFI volunteers experience, and the supports that they require to develop appropriate strategies to ensure the wildlife volunteer role is both sustainable and satisfying. It was felt that a needs analysis of the SOWFI community would help the organization better understand the needs of the volunteer workforce, and therefore provide better support for recruitment and retention of carers, which in turn support the sustainability, stability and growth of the organization.
