Julie’s Jots
What a lovely night last Thursday with our guest speaker Rachel McInnes and her very informative presentation on the trials, pitfalls and absolute delights of being a WIRES carer. Rachel really is a credit to WIRES and, as we found out, it’s not always a feel good job.
Our Exchange student Hilma also gave us a run down on her week of work experience at Moruya hospital, including watching a baby born by caesarean section… that would have been very special!
THIS WEEK
Wednesday 2 October 6.30pm: PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP
Thursday 3 October: No Dinner Meeting. 5.15pm: BOARD MEETING
The Week that Was
More on last Thursday
Both Hilma and Ellie Penglase were thrilled with their work experience (through Narooma High) at Moruya Hospital that week. Hilma said it was so special for them both. They did different rotations; Hilma’s included rehabilitation, emergency and maternity including watching a caesarian.
Then we were treated to a great presentation on WIRES by Rachel McInnes. She joined WIRES in 2016 partly because of where they live at Potato Point, the carnage of native animals on Potato Point Road, and because her target shooting experience (never at live animals!) could be of some use to WIRES.
Rachel explained that WIRES is all about Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release, and only of native animals including snakes. A wombat may take 18 months to rehabilitate. Rachel spoke warmly of the wonderful moment when an animal is released back into the wild. Those that are not able to be rehabilitated with a view to release are euthanased.
WIRES volunteers are on call every day of the year. Their 28 branches in NSW work closely with other rescue organisations. Our local WIRES branch extends from Lake Conjola to Wallaga Lake. In 2023 they had 3,187 callouts; 50% were birds, 30% kangaroos and wallabies (road hits). Their busiest day that year was Sunday 7th May with 24 callouts to mostly road kills when “it seemed to be raining joeys”.
We were introduced to the concept of “chicknapping”, that’s when a chick falls out of the nest and people don’t wait to see if parents are around; the parents will usually will look after such chicks. There are sometimes false alarms like a report of an echidna in the middle if the road that turned out to be a toy.
Rachel suggested several ways we could help our wildlife. When driving, she urged us to be particularly aware at dawn and dusk of possible animals by the roadside, and encouraged us to put one of the little pouches she had provided into our cars to increase the survival chances of baby animals once in the hand of carers.
We all gained an insight into the challenges, heartbreaks, and rewards in being a WIRES carer, as well as admiration for their passion and devotion. Rachel proved to be a special WIRES ambassador. She made special mention of David’s considerable support for her work.
Out and About
From Moruya Rotary on cemetery restoration
Moruya Rotary and National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) collaborated in a project to restore graves and fencing at the historic Toragy Point Cemetery at South Head Moruya, part of Eurobodalla National Park. The project is now completed and is written up in this week’s Moruya Mail. Chris Manahan initiated the project in his year as Moruya President (2021-2022) and has helped drive the project since. Chris said they hadn’t realised the paper work that would be necessary before any work could commence. NPWS took the lead in completing the Environmental Assessment, Project Plan and Heritage Impact documents.
Physical work started early this year. Rotary assisted NPWS with relocating headstones to their correct plinths on top of their actual grave sites and assisted with re-erecting some internal timber fencing and railing and replacing some. More recently, Service Staff (NPWS) replaced the perimeter fence which was upgraded to a new ironbark post and rail fence surrounding the graveyard.
From Batemans Bay Rotary
Batemans Bay Rotarians inducted two new members into their Club last week, including past Eurobodalla Mayor Mat Hatcher who most probably will again be mayor.
On increasing and maintaining membership
A Rotary Club in Ohio made several adjustments to attract new members. One was switching from a lunch to a breakfast club which was more convenient for people who worked further way. Another was making a highlight of meetings the monthly “get to know a Rotarian” presentation where members take the floor to talk about themselves.
The Club also increased the number of service opportunities to more than 20 fundraisers and projects each year. To quickly bring new members into the fold, the club surveys them about which committees, projects, and fundraisers they’d like to be involved with and they become involved from the start. All club members receive the same survey annually
NEXT WEEK
Thursday 10 October: 6 for 6.30pm – Club Dinner at Narooma Golf Club.