BlazeAid is a volunteer-based organisation that works with families and individuals in rural Australia after natural disasters such as fires and floods. Working alongside the rural families, their volunteers help to rebuild fences and other structures that have been damaged or destroyed.

Equally important, volunteers also help to lift the spirits of people who are often facing their second or third flood event after years of drought, or devastating losses through bushfires. BlazeAid volunteers work in a disaster-affected area for many months, not only helping individuals and families, but also helping rebuild the local communities.

After the devastating bushfires of 2020, I spent two days with the BlazeAid team in Northern NSW. Our primary goal was to help farmers and property owners rebuild their burnt fences. Once we got in a rhythm the work was surprisingly straight forward and we were able to achieve so much in the two days.

If you would like to help with the ongoing disaster relief, in many parts of Australia, please visit

https://blazeaid.com.au/

In 2019, a Peruvian surf trip brought me to the town of Huanchaco. Whilst there I heard about a surf shop doing great things to help the environment and local community.

Since the store’s opening, Roxane and Mateo have organized weekly beach clean-ups to try and diminish the high levels of contamination in local waters. I was lucky enough to help out with one of their weekend plastic forages and we gathered 20kg from the main beach in only a few hours, 2kg of which could recycled back at the shop. For me, one of the most pleasing aspects of the experience was the amount of young, local kids helping with the clean.

In fact, prior to opening the shop, Roxane and Mateo began an NGO, Share the Wave, where they work to promote social inclusion and empowerment of the underprivileged youth, as well as the continuity of the local cultural heritage and environmental conscience and action.

For more information on how this small team is having such a big environmental impact, visit

https://www.sharethewave.org/

Animal Welfare League Queensland has been in operation for over 60 years. During this time they have achieved incredible results, including reducing euthanasia rates within their rehoming centres to some of the lowest in Australia through their Getting to Zero initiative, working with councils and the community to assist with the desexing of over 200,000 cats and dogs through their National Desexing Network and creating Golden Hearts™- a program design to assist seniors with pet ownership.

There are so many volunteering options with this organisation and in 2020 I spent three months helping with the dogs on the Gold Coast.

If you love dogs then you will love this position. My daily duties included-

• Walking the dogs and playing with them in off lead areas
• Helping with food prep at meal times
• Helping with the cleaning of enclosures

Volunteers are the heart of AWLQ and without their energy, talents and time they would not be able to provide a safe haven to close to 10,000 animals each year. Their volunteers make such a difference to the lives of the animals in their care by contributing their time in a variety of ways – from enriching the lives of animals, running their ops shops, or managing laundry, to collecting donations, fundraising at events, or providing community or admin support.

If you would like more information on how you can help, please visit

https://www.awlqld.com.au/ 

I simply know this as Rosemary’s House. Located in Colan, Northern Peru, Rosemary and a small team care for six dogs, two turtles and around 50 cats.

Rosemary founded the organisation in 2005 to combat the neglect, both intentional and unintentional, imposed on domestic animals such as dogs and cats.

Along with the main shelter and education programs for the local community,  AHSFA also staff one veterinarian and one assistant who run a mobile clinic in the nearby rural villages.

In 2019 I spent a week with Rosemary in Colan helping in any way I could.

My work involved-

• Walking the dogs
• Taking charge of the care of a very boisterous kitten named Pedro
• Feeding the animals
• Helping with the care of sick animals
• Helping with supply pick-ups
• Working in the gardens

If you’re going to be in Peru and would like to help Rosemary and the team, please look them up.

https://animalvolunteeringworkawayperu.org/

La Isla de los Monos is a 450 hectare island sanctuary and rescue centre located 30km from Iquitos in the Amazon jungle of Peru. Founded in 1997,  their project rescues, rehabilitates and releases monkeys that have fallen victim to illegal animal trafficking.

In 2019 I spent 10 days helping the team on Monkey Island. Most of the monkeys have come from domesticated environments and are extremely comfortable around people. I constantly had multiple monkeys climbing over me whilst I was trying to work.

The goal of the sanctuary is to rehabilitate the monkeys to a point where they can be released into the wild.

The monkeys are free to roam and explore the jungle away from the centre with multiple feeding stations over a large area.

Day-to-day duties included-

• Helping with tours
• Working in the gardens
• Food preparation and feeding
• Transporting materials from the dock to the centre
• Playing and laughing with the monkeys all day long

I loved my time here and can’t wait to get back to Peru. Most of the funding for the project is through donations and they rely heavily on volunteers.

Covid was particularly hard with tourism brought to a halt.

If you love monkeys and you’re looking for a hands-on experience then contact La Isla De Los Monos

https://laisladelosmonos.org/