About Us
The Victorian Malleefowl Recovery Group (VMRG) is a group of interested volunteers working under the supervision of Dr Joe Benshemesh. Volunteers undergo training in data collection and bush safety and then spend time in the field collecting data from nest sites within a defined grid in the Victorian Mallee Country.
Volunteers usually work in pairs. Partner and family teams are common, but certainly not exclusively so. Buddy up with one of your friends and get involved!
The VMRG takes pride in the work that it does. It provides substantial training and is very conscious of the need to ensure the safety of volunteers in the field.
The VMRG provides all the necessary equipment and has, in recent years, been able to provide some expense money.
Volunteering
A training weekend is held early in October at Wyperfeld National Park. Typically, training takes place on the Saturday afternoon and the Sunday morning, to allow time for travelling. An evening 'around the campfire' takes place on the Saturday in the campground at Wyperfeld N.P.
Training includes:
data measurement and collection;
bush navigation and safety; and,
familiarisation with technology – Android app, GPS navigators and safety equipment.
Data collection takes place at a time to suit the volunteer, the aim is to have monitoring completed in the period of October to February. The time to collect the data will vary from 2 to 4 days, plus travelling time.
Volunteers are required to provide their own transport and accommodation. Some grids are accessible by conventional vehicle, the rest require 4WD.
For more information on volunteering, please see our Volunteering page.
Policies
Download the VMRG Constitution (revised October 2013) (pdf format, 185KB).
Download the VMRG Roles of Executive and Committee Members (pdf format, 253KB).