Nurturing Australia's unique native wildlife

This year’s theme, ‘Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: conserving health, heritage and livelihoods’, highlights how these plants support human health, sustain livelihoods, and preserve cultural knowledge passed down through generations, including deep Indigenous knowledge systems.

Conserving them protects biodiversity, strengthens ecosystems, and reinforces community resilience, especially as bushfires, floods, and climate change increasingly threaten our landscapes.

Today isn’t just about celebrating wildlife, but also spotlighting the people who protect it.

Wildlife carers are an essential part of Australia’s emergency response network, but they are often under-recognised and under-resourced.

More than 3 weeks after the Deep Creek bushfire in SA in early February 2026 was declared contained, wildlife carers and South Australian Veterinary Emergency Management volunteers remained on the fireground, treating animals emerging from refuges with burns, smoke inhalation, and other injuries.

According to an ABC News report, in just 8 days they assessed more than 470 animals – mostly kangaroos – highlighting both the hidden toll disasters take on native species and the critical role of trained volunteer responders.

On World Wildlife Day, their work is a reminder that protecting wildlife doesn’t end when the flames are out, and continues through sustained care, community coordination, and long-term recovery support.

These are dedicated, highly trained volunteers, but they rely on community backing. Local wildlife groups are often stretched to their limits, whether it’s bushfires, floods, or extreme heat.

Supporting them can be simple – reach out to your local wildlife rescue or care group and ask what they need most. It might be volunteers, donations to help cover veterinary bills, supplies like specialised formula, transport cages, or equipment for feeding stations.

You can also support them by sharing their messages, preparing your own property to be wildlife-safe during emergencies, and advocating for wildlife to be considered in local emergency planning.

AIDR’s Planning for Animals Handbook plays an important role in embedding wildlife care into emergency management from the outset.

The handbook provides practical, evidence-based guidance for communities, responders and wildlife networks to plan before disaster strikes. It outlines how to coordinate, communicate, and prepare so wildlife carers aren’t left scrambling when the next fire or flood hits.

Additionally, the Planning for Animals Handbook Showcase webinar further highlights how these principles can be implemented in real-world settings.