Big Boost to Possumwood’s Wildlife Learning Centre Project from the Bungendore Community Bank

There is now a very good chance that the Possumwood Wildlife Learning Centre project could be completed before the end of the year, with a generous grant of$88,730 from Bungendore’s Community Bank.

Speaking about the project, Possumwood Director Professor Steve Garlick reminded us that one of the major lessons from the catastrophic Black Summer fires, in which an estimated three billion wild animals lost their lives, was the lack of knowledge of how to effectively respond to future environmental catastrophes. Animal welfare professionals, NGOs, emergency service personnel, wildlife agencies, volunteers,local communities, and others, needed more training and information about how to more effectively rescue, treat, and rehabilitate serious injury cases resulting from natural disasters.

Professor Garlick said “The Possumwood Wildlife charity played a significant role in rescuing, treating, and rehabilitating injured fire victims during and after Black Summer. That experience convinced us that a lot more needed to be done to help our wildlife when the next disaster occurs. We turned one of our buildings into a veterinary hospital and gained our licence from the NSW Veterinary Surgeons Board in December 2020. Today, we are helping a thousand wild animals a year in the hospital and rehabilitation centre”.

To date, the learning centre project has benefited from funding support from Animals Australia and Humane World for Animals, as well as our much appreciated many small donors and contributors. The grant from the Bungendore Community Bank enables the date for completion of the learning centre to be brought substantially forward and demonstrates how the corporate world and a charity can work in ethical partnership for the benefit of our unique wildlife at a community level.

One of the first exciting initiatives for the learning centre will be holding a Future Vets Kids Camp for children aspiring to be veterinarians, who want to know more about helping wildlife, particularly in non-metropolitan areas of the country. International interest in the learning project is also being stimulated, with upcoming visits by animal professionals from overseas.