Volunteer Stories
Bruce Sharp - He is one person you can say "he is a great Australian" without cringing.
Over the past four years, Bruce Sharp, 60, has volunteered more than 40 weeks with Conservation Volunteers.
Living a couple of blocks from famous surf spot at Collaroy Beach in Sydney’s north, he chooses to go on projects in Australia’s interior.
Roaming around the country has allowed Bruce to see some spectacular sights and be involved in important conservation work. He has undertaken fauna surveys 350 km north west of Alice Springs tracking desert mice, camels and feral cats.
Plus monitor populations of Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies in northern South Australia. “We were trapping them, taking measurements and tagging them with microchips. ”
But the volunteering is only one reward. In S.A. he managed to witness the eclipse of the moon and sun from “the best place in the world” for the viewing and was passing through Alice in time to see to the renowned Henley-on-Todd Regatta. “We cracked ‘em both. ” enthuses Bruce.
“Conservation Volunteers has become a big part of my life. I love the company of the people, from the staff right through to the visiting volunteers. I love being outdoors and physical work is my forté. Plus we get the opportunity to go where others don’t. We go behind those ‘No Entry’ signs in all the national parks.”
Bruce has helped on projects that have planted over 10,000 trees. He has installed fences to keep wildlife in and stock out in the NSW outback, removed exotic weed species from around penguin nesting burrows on an island in Jervis Bay, and protected the internationally recognised Macquarie Marshes.
Whatever the project, Bruce has found that his age is no barrier, even with the younger volunteers. “No dramas, no bagging out, the teams mix in really well.” For his dedication Conservation Volunteers has twice bestowed Bruce with awards to acknowledge his considerable contribution.
To guide his endeavours he has a developed his own credo “Basically, in a nutshell, I’m trying to help preserve, protect and maintain our natural and historical heritage.” As the marketing manager for CVA put it, when referring to Bruce “He is one person you can say “he is a great Australian” without cringing.”