EMU's Senior Education Officer, Daryl Joy spearheads community engagement through sharing the educational messages of the RSPCA; humane treatment, respecting the environment and developing a keen sense of empathy for all creatures great and small.
EMU is once again set to take off to the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) from Friday 9 until Sunday 18th August at the Brisbane Showgrounds this year.
We want to change hearts and minds, and of course behaviour in people’s dealings with animals. When we talk to kids about doing simple things like putting water in the bowl, giving their pets a bath, making sure they have somewhere sheltered to sleep, things they can do to help their own pets… they pass these messages onto their friends and go home and talk to their parents,” Daryl says.
EMU is proactively engaging the community by getting out there, rather than expecting the community to come to us. With new, more interactive, and hands-on activities, this means that EMU is ‘fresh’, but still has the feel of an old friend if you are returning to year-on-year.
The EMU van travels predominantly around Queensland and engages with regional areas thanks to the help of council sponsorships.
“Councils will give us a list of schools they want us to approach, which we will do and take care of the organisational and logistical parts of visiting a school. And as a part of that, we will do a community event like a pet day or a show on the weekend following. We will often get kids coming back and drawing their parents in with them. Parents will still get the same messages as their kids do, they just don’t play the same way. For adults, EMU is more about reinforcement.” Daryl says.
But what makes working in Education at RSPCA so rewarding?
Seeing the excitement at an off-site visit, holiday program, or tour of one of our animal care campuses makes what we do so satisfying. RSPCA has something for everyone and we know that everything we do helps those participating to become lifelong animal advocates.Do you know someone with an interest in educating young people in animal welfare?
Let them know that the RSPCA is looking for Educational Assistant Volunteers in Primary and Secondary Education. You can apply here!
