🐨 Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary: A Whole-Team Commitment to Inclusion

This week marked the final workshop in a powerful series with staff from across wildlife, maintenance, management, food & beverage, and education at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

Together, we explored what it means to truly understand and support neurodivergent colleagues and visitors—from the moment someone considers coming, through their experience onsite, and even how they leave feeling. We also looked inward: listening to staff stories, unpacking assumptions, and understanding the diverse perspectives within the team itself.

What stood out was the depth of collaboration and the genuine drive to improve—not in a tokenistic way, but in a real, grounded, human way. Staff brought their existing knowledge and skills, shared strategies they’ve already developed, and then went deeper—asking how they could extend those strategies to better support everyone, including their many international visitors.

·      Real stories were shared.

·      Mindsets were gently challenged.

·      People supported each other without judgment.

·      Learning was collective, courageous, and kind.

I’m grateful for the willingness to feel discomfort in service of growth, the celebration of what’s already working, and the commitment to working with people—not just systems or roles. The complexity of supporting all learners was never minimised—it was embraced with curiosity and care.

This series also challenged me (which I love!). An animal sanctuary isn’t my usual setting (although I feel like I lived at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary when my children were young and I still love it) —but it reminded me that evidence and experience apply across all environments and spaces. By applying the evidence and experience in this space, small adjustments can make a big difference. One example discussed was, letting the audience know you’ll pause speaking while the Barking Owl flies overhead— offering predictability and calm in moments that might otherwise feel overwhelming.

I feel privileged to have witnessed the growth in knowledge, confidence, and connection across the team. Many staff are now supporting visitors and colleagues in such a universal, thoughtful way that it’s becoming second nature. They’ve shown a rare ability to critically reflect on their practice, check their assumptions, and strive for better—not from ego, but from empathy.

I’m excited for what comes next for Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

The photo of the Barking Owl is purely because I learned about this during the workshop. I always walk away from workshops learning something new!

Picture of barking owl flying away from a tree branch