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Voluntary Projects
The Wild Animal Care Program, is situated on a farm near Port Edward, it is the only official wildlife rehabilitation centre serving the lower south coast region, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The core function of the Centre is to attempt to rehabilitate and release as many animals and birds as possible that have sustained injuries and stress due to mainly human influence. We are a small rehab. It peaks in breeding season with injured and other cases out of the breeding season. Antelope in care varies from 12 to 20, currently some injured birds/orphans (cape gannet, weaver, doves, hadeda, woolly neck stork, owl (soon to be released), goslings, ducks. Permanent resident bush pig, banded mongoose youngsters and dassie youngsters.
Our current and most pressing goals are two-fold: to establish and education/information centre, concentrating particularly on increasing awareness in our future generations. The second is to build improved and appropriate care areas for animals and birds in an attempt to simulate their natural environments.
1. Accommodation and general info
- Shared 2 to 3 volunteers (same gender) with on suit bathroom (toilet, basin and shower)
- Hot and Cold Running water.
- Bedding is supplied.
- There will be trips to town at least once a week.
- Three meals a day will be provided.
- Washing can be arranged at an additional cost of R20 per week, payable at the program.
- Volunteers eat together every night and they will be asked to assist wherever possible with food preparation.
- Volunteers with special dietary requirements are welcome. As specific food is required, it is a little more costly, so if you have special dietary requirements, you may need to pay a little extra. If you require a meal totally separate from everybody, you will have to prepare your own meal with provided ingredients.
- E-mail facilities are available. If volunteers wish to be on the Internet for long periods, it will be costly and an extra cost will be added. Otherwise, the project suggests that volunteers give their family and friends the project leaders address, and they send the e-mails over (please, no pictures / special effects due to slow download rates). Volunteers can prepare the emails offline, and when the project leader goes on, the emails can be sent for free.
- A telephone is available at the office. It will be charged per minute according to the telephone directory rates.
- No television.
2. Volunteer duties:
- Assisting with preparation of food for daily feeds.
- Cleaning of Clinic, cages and adjacent areas.
- Removing/cleaning paddock areas from non-indigenous plant and invader growth.
- Putting up fences.
- Putting together cages.
- Depending on the volunteers ability to feed our patients (birds mostly), I do allow assistance in this section.
3. Places of interest and optional Activities:
- Clearwater Trails - 2 km from centre - mountain biking and walking trails. Bird watching and sunset deck on the Umtamvuna Gorge.
- Umtambuna Nature reserve - 3 km from centre - for the keen hikers
- Beaver Creek coffee estate - 3 km from centre - bottomless cup of coffee's and restaurant
- Space Centre - 3km from centre
- The Light House and restaurant - 7 km from centre
- The Port Edward beach - 8 km from Centre
Please note: You would need to book your flights to Durban International Airport, from there you will get picked up by someone who will transfer you to a nearby backpackers lodge, where you will get picked up by a 19-seater semi-luxury bus with a TV & videos, and trailers capable of carrying surfboards and bicycles, and driven to Margate, with other young people. Your program leader will be waiting at the drop off in Margate.
A "what to bring" list, and more detailed welcome letter will be sent to you once you have filled in the application form and sent it back to us.
4. DOWNLOAD the Application Form
Click here to download the application form!
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