Carolyn Pickering is the Volunteer and Visitor Engagement Coordinator for Nature Foundation. She manages our Volunteer program and visitors across our nature reserves and related sites.

How did you come to be at Nature Foundation?

I've had a very varied working life, from working as a Physical Education and Outdoor Education Teacher and supporting people with Information Technology to focussing on Volunteer Coordination roles in the past ten years or so years in the Arts with Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Fringe, to Conservation with Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Zoos SA, and other not for profits including Scope Global and Operation Flinders.

Volunteering opened doors to my professional career in working with volunteer organisations. I have volunteered in various areas, including sports, conservation and the arts. This personal experience has enabled me to enhance the volunteer programs and the experiences of volunteers through my work.

My love of nature and goals of supporting habitat and threatened species drew me to this role with Nature Foundation. I want to contribute to a positive and vibrant team working towards a positive future for our natural spaces and biodiversity.

What sorts of things do you do in your role, and what do you enjoy most?

Working in a people-involving role is the most satisfying part of what I do as a volunteer coordinator. I focus on building a team of volunteers to meet the organisation's needs enjoyably and purposefully.

I recruit passionate people willing to serve and help match them to their areas of interest so they can make a positive impact through this service. I especially like celebrating what we achieve through this process with the big team of incredible humans who get involved.

What are some of your other interests?

I am currently part of a Friends of the Heysen Trail end-to-end walking group heading north in our third year on the trail. I also enjoy my garden and have established a habitat at home on the Fleurieu Peninsula for birds, insects, and reptiles over the past three years since building my house and a wonderfully producing vegetable garden.

I am also a rescue dog owner, and Bella is my joy and another way I keep active outdoors. In my youth, I enjoyed sports, with cricket and lacrosse being my main passions, though I played most team sports at some stage. Photography, visual arts and music are my main artistic interests, and I love getting out and enjoying Adelaide's Festivals and art scene when I can.

Learn more about and register for our Volunteer program.