My name is John, and I am a Wombat Carer. In my life, I have been an Army Officer, High School teacher, Teen and Family counselor, amateur potter, and historian. I have always had many interests and related hobbies that have added greatly to my life and life experiences. The most connecting and  constant ones have centered around the love and appreciation of art, music and history, nature and wildlife, people and community. I have always been most intrigued at the places where all these interests intersect and brightly connect. Strangely, This work with the wombats, is one such place….

Following an accident in 2001 which left my neck severely damaged, I was faced with a disability and a long recovery time. Unable to work, and with chronic pain, I struggled with the loss of of much of what made up my life, and drove my sense of place and purpose. Recovery was slow and complicated, and my ability to do my former job was lost. The injury put me on a long road of chronic pain, harsh medications, loss and somehow learning to work and live within my many newly established limitations. Semi-recovery was the goal, and learning to accept living within the “new normal” was key to positive change. It was not always easy, in fact, it seldom was. Fortunately, I had, and have, such a strong and supportive loving family, a strong sense of personal ‘purpose’, many dear friends, and a wonderful community around me that have helped me through this most difficult period….and as you will see, the Wombats themselves have helped me too!

Recovery was long, and there were times I could do very little physical actions. It was during this time, that I began to study the life and habits of The Bare Nosed Wombat. This interest in wombats soon became a  passion and from a passion, a full-time learning experience in the rescue, rehabilitation, treatment and care of these wonderful, engaging, and intelligent animals. I soon became an active member of Wildlife Rescue South Coast and the Wombat Protection Society. I found that by being an active volunteer, there is so much more that we can all learn and do to help protect and assist our precious wildlife. I put my efforts into learning all I could about Wombats. A trove of great new education and information that I had not considered was all there to learn and consider. New ideas, and new approaches to looking at wildlife and wombats were opened before me. I found so many ways that I could work within my limitations to help make a difference in the lives of these beautiful creatures. I found, that within these groups, there were opportunities to step up to assist the wildlife in so many varied ways….from answering phones, noting documentation, assisting carers, etc. I soon found myself taking on various roles in relation to these organizations and this eventually led to my having two wombats to care for, raise and release back into the wild. This was a huge learning experience, and onr that only furthered my love for these misunderstood animals. From there I went on and rescued, rehabilitated and raised many wonderful wombats in my time.