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| Georgie and a Dead Adder |
What is your name?
Georgie Campbell
Where do you live?
Belrose in Sydney (Northern Beaches Branch)
How Long have you been doing this?
Ever since I was a child in NZ
…Sydney Wildlife 18 years
How did you get into this?
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Genuine love for all animals and the environment.
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Making a difference to animals affected by humans.
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My first rescue was a brush tail possum with a Milo tin stuck on its
head.
20 years ago I was at an underground
rave party where I saw an emaciated terrified cockatoo kept in horrific
conditions. The party host boasted of capturing her from a nest and raising her
a few months back. When no one was looking or too trashed to care my husband
and I snuck her out the back door and made her a promise to help her.
12 months of rehab at our flat and
teaching her how to fly we worked with IFAW (International Fund for Animal
Welfare ) to finally drive her to a soft release sanctuary in Dubbo where she
was released another 4 months later. This experience uncovered so many cruel
truths and we signed up with Sydney Wildlife not long after.
What is the best thing?
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Expecting the unexpected!
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Getting Dirty!
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Working with other dedicated volunteers and knowing there is heaps of
support when I need a hand.
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Educating the public especially children and of course helping animals!
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| Georgie and Miss Daisy |
What is
the worst thing?
Sad outcomes in particular relating to
cat attacks… far too common and mostly preventable
It’s a shame that more education isn’t
taught in schools about the unique flora and fauna Australia has and how to
care for and protect it. Even with common species identification most people
don’t have a clue. I believe this should be a mandatory subject. It's crazy
that some people believe a possum is a koala.
What are
you never without?
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Sense of humour and tea tree oil!
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Torch , snake bags hooks, towels,....all the usual stuff
You have
a pretty busy lifestyle, does it ever get hard to balance?
Sure is working full time in our own
Addiction Food Brownie Business having a special horse with many needs
and daughter Gracie.
This means I am travelling all over
Sydney everyday so get to pick up animals in need in all areas as I may be
passing through suburbs.
It's organized chaos!
Mostly first thing in the morning
sorting animals out and again in the evening after work and putting horse to
bed there is enclosures to clean housework etc, needless to say we don’t have a
conventional family dinner!
Summer is way busier with so many
reptiles in my area especially calls that don’t come through Sydney wildlife ,
horse ajistment places and social media tags.
You have
a daughter, what does your wildlife work mean to you as a mother?
My daughter Grace has grown up with
wildlife rescue she is now 13 years old. She also did hundreds of rescues while
I was pregnant with her:-). She is the go to kid at school with anything
wildlife related and she is always called up by the teachers with all
sorts of animals in the school grounds.
As a mother I am super proud passing on
this knowledge and responsibility to Gracie. She is a very grounded kid with a
huge love for all animals and demonstrates this every day with her own rescues.
Compassion and kindness to animals
starts with the kids as they are our future wildlife guardians so I involve her
as much as possible.
Do you
have any "favourites" that have been in care?
They are all unique and I fall in love
with them all!
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I must admit I adore the echidna's and bandicoots their little
nozzles so divine!
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Bob the cockatoo we had in care for months and soft released from our
place still visits us.
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Miss Daisy a diamond python only just released after 9 weeks in care
with a 50% chance of survival after being run over by a car. Her daily
improvements bought me to tears she was such an extraordinary fighter!
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My first twin baby ringtails 18 years ago have a very special place in
my heart!
What
would you say to anyone who was thinking about joining Sydney Wildlife?
It’s the most rewarding work I have
ever done and will always continue to do. It is quite possibly the biggest part
of my life full of love and laughs along with sadness. It keeps you real and
knowing you are making a difference in what actually matters in life.