Australia Day Citizen of the Year – Adam Smith
Senior Citizen of the Year – Lorraine Musgrove
Senior Citizen of the Year – Joan Osmond
Community Event of the Year – Blue Lake Carols
Active Citizenship Award – Mount Gambier Men’s Shed ‘Toy Boys’

Julia Dangerfield is known for her dedication to and care of Australian native wildlife as a volunteer wildlife rescuer on call to undertake animal rescues and provide emergency care.

The 26-year-old animal lover was born and raised in Millicent before moving to Adelaide for university.

“I have just always really liked animals ever since I was a kid, I started volunteering out at the Animal Welfare League as soon as I turned 16 and then I moved away to university and studied animal science and got involved in wildlife rescue up there, so it has always been a passion of mine,” Ms Dangerfield said.

She returned to live in Mount Gambier after a stint in Victoria and aims to educate the community about the importance of wildlife conservation and rehabilitation through the Mount Gambier Wildlife Carer social media page, advocating for injured animals and encouraging people to report native animals in distress.

“When I came back here I noticed there was still a need for wildlife rescuers in the area, so I started off doing some rescues and created a Facebook page to try and help raise general awareness about some of the issues around here like people hitting animals and leaving them injured on the side of the road, or what to do if you see a wallaby in town,” Ms Dangerfield said.

“It has exploded from there, it keeps me busy, some days I get five to 10 calls a day.”

Ms Dangerfield responds to call outs and deals with initial rescues and short-term care before the animals are distributed to carers throughout the region.

In the past year alone, she dealt with more than 50 kangaroo and wallaby joeys.

“There is no government funding, it’s all out of pocket which does get quite expensive especially with the macropods, their milk is not cheap I think it’s $40 to $50 a kilogram and I can go through one or two kilograms a week depending on how many joeys I have in care,” she said.

“That’s just a small part of the costs with things like vet bills too, so I do not go on holidays and most of my money goes back into rescuing.”

One of her latest foster animals is Panda, a seven-month-old orphaned wallaby.

“Panda’s mum was hit and killed by a car, someone was driving home from work Tantanoola way and found him standing next to his mother,” Ms Dangerfield said.

“Thankfully they stopped and picked him up, took him home and gave us a call.

“He will be raised in care and stay in care for the rest of his life, we cannot release kangaroos and wallabies in South Australia, so he’ll end up in a sanctuary where he’ll get to spend the rest of his life safe and protected.

“It is hard to let them go as a short-term carer, but there is always more.

“You pass one on and the next two more come in, so it’s a constant revolving door.

“I have the least I have had now for a while, I have got two wallabies, two kangaroos, a wombat and a couple of birds.”

While Ms Dangerfield predominantly cares for macropods, she is part of the State Government’s Wombat Program.

She raises orphan wombats, who cannot be released into the wild, until they are old enough to be placed in zoos and wildlife parks for breeding programs in Australia and overseas.

“One of the little wombats I have just finished raising is in quarantine at the moment waiting to fly over to go to the Prague Zoo in the Czech Republic,” she said.

“I love how she can go overseas now, but we’re all still stuck here.

“A wombat will get a first-class flight there no doubt.”

Ms Dangerfield is currently studying a Master of Business Administration online through the Australian Institute of Business and hopes to use her newfound knowledge to influence government policy and regulations to benefit native wildlife.

“I want to change people’s views and perceptions on wildlife,” she said.

“Living in a rural community some of them are seen as pests and as over abundant, I really want people to view our native wildlife the same way they do cats and dogs, if you saw an injured dog you’d call someone about it or if you hit a dog you’d do something about it.”

As a final step in completing her university studies, Ms Dangerfield plans to set up a not-for-profit charity organisation, Limestone Coast Wildlife Rescue.

“At the moment I do this myself, so I’m looking at setting up a not-for-profit organisation but obviously there is a lot of work that goes into it because you have to have a constitution and a committee so I’m planning on doing this as my final project for my MBA,” she said.

“It would be nice to be able to fundraise some money to be able to give other carers in the region a hand.”

Ms Dangerfield was surprised to find out that she was the recipient of the 2022 City of Mount Gambier Young Citizen of the Year Award.

“I did not expect it, it’s lovely and I feel a bit embarrassed.

“I’m one of thousands of volunteers around Australia taking on the caretaker role and responsibilities for injured wildlife out of their own pocket,” she said.

Ms Dangerfield said volunteering helped her on the path of discovery towards her dream career and encouraged other young people to consider volunteering in some capacity.

“If you have got something you’re interested in, go out and volunteer in a similar field and get some experience, you’ll be amazed what you learn,” she said.

“You’ll see whether you like it or not, you’ll make different contacts that can get you involved in different projects and potential job opportunities later on and you’ll learn a lot of valuable skills which employers will really like later on as well.”