Charlotte Varcoe
WILDLIFE carer Julia Dangerfield has been recognised for her caring of wildlife by being announced as Mount Gambier City Council’s Young Citizen of the Year.
Ms Dangerfield has been rescuing wildlife across South Australia for several years, beginning the journey when she was at university.
Currently, the avid volunteer cares for a number of Australian animals including possums, birds, wallabies and kangaroos.
When first told about the award, Ms Dangerfield said she thought it was a scam call until she realised it was actually Mount Gambier City Council Mayor Lynette Martin on the other end.
“It was a huge surprise because I didn’t even know that I was nominated,” Ms Dangerfield said.
“One of the carers and her daughter that I work closely with were the ones who nominated me and they didn’t tell me so I was shocked when I received the call.”
Ms Dangerfield said she felt “fairly embarrassed” at receiving the award and also acknowledged the many other wildlife carers across the region.
“I don’t think I deserve all the credit because there are so many people that do so much for wildlife down here,” she said.
“There are so many other carers that I work with that answer calls 24-hours a day and do rescues for me and without them I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”
