Kauri Maclean (right) has been a volunteer for 11 years. She and her sister Jarrah wash up the banana smoothie buckets every day. They are keen to help clean up all food containers but this is not a habit to be encouraged!.

Kira Hughes, USA. December 2005

Though my time at the bat hospital was short it was an incredibly valuable experience. I didn't want to travel overseas as a typical tourist and volunteering with the bats gave me the opportunity make a beneficial impact, see a country from a unique perspective and meet local people who want to make a difference in their own backyard. Most rewarding for me was the ability to work hands on with the bats, learn about their individual personalities, and about what ecological issues are of most concern to their survival. I'm glad to know that rescue organizations like the Tolga Bat Hospital are working hard to rehabilitate native species and I am lucky to have been a part of that effort!

Tressa Reddie, Australia. December 2005.

Elena Bridgens, Australia. December 2005.
Leaving the steaming hot touristy Cairns for Atherton was like arriving at
alittle peice of paradise, especially as a bat lover! It felt as though not
a metre of Jens property was batless, whether it be manmade or bat made.
Nearly everywhere you went you could hear a little flap, cherp, see a
little twinkle of an eye belonging to one of the most remarkable, spendid,
loveable creatures nature has created and sadly one that faces more than its fair
share of problems in their purposeful existance. I was to learn this
during my three week volunteering stay at TBH. I was also to learn how to string
some apples pretty darn fast!
I arrived just after christmas, when the bubs were coming to terms with
'leaving the nest' in this case an existence nothing short of royalty. As
the days went on, I got more and more attached to the lil guys.They gained their independance and were put into the bigger 'houses' to prepare them for their release into the scrub. I honestly think I felt more pride with the release than taking my own child (if I had one) for their first day at school.
As for staying at Jens, we volunteers were right up there with the royal
standards too. Never short of some of the best food I have ever tasted!
Comfy beds, our own quarters, lovely surroundings, and living amongst some
of the most inspirational dedicated people in Australia!
The work the TBH does can never be aprecciated enough, I would highly
recommend being a volunteer!

Antony Mould and Abie Meddings, England. November 2004

'In November 2004 we spent three weeks at the Tolga Bat Hospital as part of an eight month round-the-world trip. Within five minutes of arriving at the hospital we were handling and feeding our first orphaned spectacled fruit bat pups (known affectionately as 'bubs') - if it's interaction with wildlife you're after, Tolga Bat Hospital is the place to go!

The next three weeks were a haze of preparing food, cleaning, handling, fussing and feeding - it's hard work (often 16 hr days), but then again you're working with and helping to save fruit bats! We also got to go out on rescue trips and conduct some colony surveys (the evening skies filled with thousands of spectacled and little red fruit bats heading off in search of food).

The spectacled fruit bats on the Atherton Tablelands are in a precarious position, and the work of Jenny Mclean and the bat hospital volunteers is playing a crucial role in their continued survival. We feel proud to have been able to make a small contribution to this cause.'