New volunteer inductions a succecss
Partnering with Council to onboard new volunteers into the Nature Care program
Capacity building - LEP_23_034
The issue
We realised that new volunteers were not being provided with consistent information when they started in the Nature Care Program. This was because the only 'induction' provided was a site safety induction which was specific to each Nature Care group. We thought it was important that new volunteers were not aware of the scope of the Nature Care program, support available and volunteer expectations.
The solution
We piloted a Nature Care induction workshop in February 2026. We developed a presentation, organised for an existing Nature Care volunteer to present about their experience and for a presentation on Aboriginal Cultural Heritage from Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council.
The first workshops took a lot of time to organise but we received really positive feedback from the participants- so much so that some of our existing volunteers were also keen to attend future workshops.
The impact
The benefits of the workshops have been greater then we anticipated. New volunteers get to meet volunteers from other groups, and in some cases decide to volunteer with two or more groups.
A significant amount of time is spent discussing best-practice restoration in which we encourage volunteers to work with the natural resilience of the site and avoid planting unless absolutely necessary.
We expect the value of providing a clear outline of the program including expectations of volunteers will pay dividends into the future.