The entire Springrook Rescue Project is a volunteer program. ARCS is a not-for-profit organization established in 1982 and, for the majority of its existence, essentially all involved have been volunteers. We believe in service to this earth that gives us life and riches beyond measure but which we are imperilling as rarely before in its long history. More than 50 ARCS volunteers from far and wide have participated in the Springbrook Rescue Project. They have ranged in age from 12 to over 80 and possess a wide range of skills and knowledge, or just enthusiasm. All willing hands are welcome, from anywhere in the world. Our philosophy is to build a loyal team of volunteers whose commitment continually deepens. Self reliance, knowledge, camaraderie and friendship grow, enriched continually by new faces and ideas. We are humbled by the many people who have already committed so much time, even before Springbrook Rescue officially started. For many, the hands-on work of building a new national park and World Heritage Area — pulling down habitat-fragmenting fencing, eradicating invasive exotic weeds, operating chippers and chainsaws, marking and measuring growth of new plants that emerge out of cow paddocks to form the next generation of forest, helping with many of the scientific programs — is a transformative and humbling experience. Especially when enveloped in clouds and ancient song of lyrebirds, logrunners or bowerbirds. Views at some of the work sites can be panoramic and stunning — across low saddles on the caldera edge, Mt Warning, the ancient core of the Tweed Shield Volcano rises imposingly. In other directions, sheer rhyolite cliffs, deep gorges or long drop waterfalls give a sense of grandeur in the otherwise ancient eroded landscape. We all feel it is an immense privilege to do whatever we can to heal one of the world’s greatest treasures, especially in an atmosphere of such complexity, rarity, antiquity, grandeur, and just sheer splendour. For more information on volunteering please contact Aila Keto at aila.keto@rainforest.org.au or register interest via this website. |
