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Emergency Response Training for Wildlife Volunteers

Monday, July 10, 2023

We are excited to share that WIRES is now offering two extensive online training courses to help our members enhance their skills and knowledge. These courses, created in collaboration with the WIRES Emergency Response Team, aim to equip our members with the necessary tools to understand and effectively respond to emergency events that affect wildlife and their habitats.

The first course, WIRES Emergency Response Awareness Course, is accessible to all WIRES members. It covers a broad range of topics, including incident levels, roles and responsibilities within Head Office and Volunteer Emergency Response Teams, collaboration with agencies and veterinarians, and volunteer support. Members will also learn about personal preparedness strategies in this course.

The second course, WIRES Emergency Response Team (ERT) Course, is mandatory for individuals who are part of the WIRES emergency response teams. This course is specifically tailored to their roles and responsibilities during emergency response operations. It covers additional topics such as communication procedures, search and rescue, triage and first aid, release considerations, and wildlife support post-emergency. The course takes approximately 7-9 hours and is required to be eligible for future emergency deployments.

At WIRES, we are committed to ensuring that our members are well-equipped and prepared to handle emergency situations effectively. Informed by WIRES’ dedication to providing high-quality education and resources to wildlife volunteers, these courses will help WIRES members gain invaluable knowledge and skills that will enable them to contribute significantly to the welfare of Australian wildlife during times of crisis. We encourage our members to enrol promptly and take advantage of these valuable training opportunities.