Bush Heritage Working Bees complement on-ground reserve management activities. Working Bee volunteers help Bush Heritage to protect Australia’s plants and animals. Working Bee volunteers enable Bush Heritage to achieve more in the way of conservation results than would otherwise be possible.

Working Bees involve people in practical conservation activities under the supervision of experienced and knowledgeable staff.  The activities can be hard yakka and suit people who like to get their hands dirty and work up a bit of a sweat. The objective of a Working Bee is to achieve a conservation goal. The expected duration of a working bee reflects the amount of time thought necessary to accomplish the goal.

For people new to Bush Heritage, we recommend Working Bees as an introduction to our volunteer program.  Working Bees are great opportunities to gain conservation experience, get to know a Bush Heritage reserve first-hand, and mix with other like-minded people.

Working Bee activities vary depending on reserve management needs and seasonal factors.  Occasionally activities may be adapted by reserve managers to suit the skills and abilities of the volunteers in attendance. Working Bees often include one or more of the following activities:
        - Weed control (eg. carry a knap-sack and use a spot-gun and probe to inject wheel cacti with herbicide)
        - Infrastructure maintenance, demolition or construction (eg. paint a house, remove a pig-sty)
                                                                              - Campsite construction
                                                                              - Seed collection
                                                                              - Track maintenance
                                                                              - Fence removal
                                                                              - Surveying   

Volunteers are generally responsible for their own cooking and cleaning, everyone in the group is expected to pitch in to help. Sometimes volunteers must bring their own food.  Other times, Bush Heritage will purchase provisions for shared meals on the basis of a ‘food kitty’ system at a cost of $10 - 15 per person per day. 

When a food kitty is used, basic food ingredients are provided.  Bush Heritage staff are often able to accommodate special dietary requirements, but our capacity to adapt for special needs is restricted by what is available in areas local to our reserves. Remote areas do not have access to the same range of goods available in urban centres. If you join a Working Bee, please feel free to take special foods, extra snacks or drinks. It is important to buy what you need before arriving at the reserve and we encourage people to shop in local towns to support the region.. 

Accommodation for Working Bees varies across reserves.  Some reserves have plenty of beds available in shared volunteer quarters, while at others camping is the only option.  If you love to camp and have your own gear, camping is always an option you can choose when you are involved at a reserve.

If you are keen to join a Working Bee, please check out the upcoming opportunities and apply for those that best suit you. 

Upcoming Working Bees

Note that volunteering placements are subject to change due to variables such as weather and fire.

APRIL

Nardoo Hills Reserves, Vic

Working Bee to control weeds.  The species of weeds to be targeted will be wholly weather dependent and therefore announced at a later date when more about weed growth is known.  Activity on the day will either be: 1) Inject Wheel Cactus (the reserve's main weed species) with glyphosphate herbicide (Poisons Schedule 5 = low toxicity to humans).  See photograph above; or 2) Remove Patterson's Curse and Horehound by manually pulling the weeds and/or spraying the weeds with glyphosphate herbicide.
Who: 6 - 10.
When: Arrive by 9pm Friday and depart approximately 3.30pm Sunday.  Dates to be announced in March 2009.
Skills required: Moderate fitness and stamina for walking distances up and down hills and pulling weeds for several hours.
Catering: BYO meals, except for the traditional Saturday night dinner at the local pub.
Click here to download an application form.

MAY

Nardoo Hills Reserves, Vic

Working Bee to control weeds.  The species of weeds to be targeted will be wholly weather dependent and therefore announced at a later date when more about weed growth is known.  Activity on the day will either be: 1) Inject Wheel Cactus (the reserve's main weed species) with glyphosphate herbicide (Poisons Schedule 5 = low toxicity to humans).  See photograph above; or 2) Remove Patterson's Curse and Horehound by manually pulling the weeds and/or spraying the weeds with glyphosphate herbicide.
Who: 6 - 10.
When: Arrive by 9pm Friday and depart approximately 3.30pm Sunday.  Dates to be announced in April 2009.
Skills required: Moderate fitness and stamina for walking distances up and down hills and pulling weeds for several hours.
Catering: BYO meals, except for the traditional Saturday night dinner at the local pub.
Click here to download an application form. 

Eurardy Reserve, WA

Working Bee to control erosion and progress the restoration of the Bungabandy Creek system.  Volunteers will use handsaws and loppers to collect brush from close by the target site, brush will be laid strategically at erosion points in order to catch silt, slow run-off and promote the germination of indigenous plant species to re-colonise the area.
Who: Maximum of 10.
When: Saturday 3 - Sunday 11 May.
Skills required: Moderate fitness and stamina for outdoor activities, manual handling and walking over uneven terrain.
Catering: Provisions will be supplied for shared meals to the cost of $15 per day per person.
Click here to download an application form. 

JUNE

Nardoo Hills Reserves, Vic

Working Bee to control weeds.  The species of weeds to be targeted will be wholly weather dependent and therefore announced at a later date when more about weed growth is known.  Activity on the day will either be: 1) Inject Wheel Cactus (the reserve's main weed species) with glyphosphate herbicide (Poisons Schedule 5 = low toxicity to humans).  See photograph above; or 2) Remove Patterson's Curse and Horehound by manually pulling the weeds and/or spraying the weeds with glyphosphate herbicide.
Who: 6 – 10.
When: Arrive by 9pm Friday and depart approximately 3.30pm Sunday.  Dates to be announced in May 2009.
Skills required: Moderate fitness and stamina for walking distances up and down hills and pulling weeds for several hours.
Catering: BYO meals, except for the traditional Saturday night dinner at the local pub.
Click here to download an application form.