WIRES is inviting members of the Far South Coast community to volunteer some of their time to help preserve and protect the unique native animals in their area.

WIRES is holding an accredited Rescue and Immediate Care Course on 12 August at Tura Beach where local residents are taught the basics of native animal care from professional training staff.

Local WIRES volunteer Janine Green is a strong advocate for wildlife preservation. She recently rescued an injured sugar glider found tangled in barbed wire in Wallagoot.

“I carefully freed the little glider from the wire to ensure its injured membrane remained as intact as possible, as without it they can’t glide properly,” said Green. “A healthy glider uses its membrane to glide as far as 50 metres to find food.”

The local vet stitched the wound and Green took him home with a course of antibiotics to help his recovery. Green released him back into the wild two weeks ago to continue his good work regenerating our native flora. Sugar gliders are excellent natural re-forresters and contribute to the pollination of native trees such as Banksia and Eucalypts.

“I love all native animals and the sugar glider is a species I really enjoy caring for - they are such beautiful animals and play an important role in flora conservation,” said Green. "We are really blessed to have a hugely diverse range of native species in our region.”

"I was a vet nurse for 20 years before I joined WIRES and wanted to give back to the environment and I would say to anyone thinking of becoming a wildlife rescuer, do it now. You can fit it around your life and do as much or as little as you are able. I have made lifelong friends at WIRES and I’ll always be part of this organisation.”

The accredited WIRES Rescue and Immediate Care Course (Course fee $175) will be held at on 12 August 2016. For details and/or more information please email Training@wires.org.au

To organise an interview with WIRES volunteer Janine Green please call Carla Toyne on 02 8977 3327 or 0416272153 or email Carla@wires.org.au