At the peak of their careers, two Wollongong mothers each made a life-changing switch that gave them time to volunteer and pursue a passion for marine conservation.

Lyndell Roberts comes from the world of construction, Jody Langlois from nursing. Their worlds collided when they joined the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA).

“I’ve always loved animals, been driven by sustainability, and the core of that is just nature and loving nature,” says Lyndell, who is Wollongong’s Pod Leader, coordinating a team of about 80 volunteers from the Royal National Park to Gerringong.

Lyndell worked in the male-dominated world of construction and had risen to be project director of construction projects at TSA Riley when she decided to take long-service leave and study sustainability. She now works for the same company but in a different job.

“I’m doing sustainability consulting,” she says. “I’m just really lucky, I made the transition at the right time, following a passion rather than searching for a career.”

Her new role offers not only the flexibility all parents need, but also the chance to volunteer and help ORRCA’s four focus marine mammals: whales, dolphins, seals and dugongs (unlikely this far south as “the ocean waters are normally a bit too cold and their favourite food doesn't normally grow around here”).

ORRCA's secretary, Jody, has been in awe of whales since seeing the giant eye of a humpback through a porthole as a child: “I have been obsessed with whales my entire life; just the enormity of them. My favourite would have to be a blue whale – the largest animal in the world.”

For most of her career, Jody has owned and run Essential Care, providing aged care and palliative care. Then in 2023, she and her husband set off around Australia in a caravan with their three children, aged 12, 11 and seven.

“It was the best thing I’ve ever done,” Jody says. “They'd known nothing other than mum's always on the phone, mum’s always working, mum's working the weekends.

“I realised how much I've missed by being so business-driven and -focused, spending 50-plus hours a week on the business, and decided I didn't want to go back.”

So, on the cusp of turning 40, Jody changed her working life and now has a manager for her business, while she studies for a Bachelor of Marine Science. It’s a long-held dream, delayed by high school teachers telling her she wasn’t smart enough to be a marine biologist and that women’s work lay in nursing.

“I got involved with ORRCA because I'm pursuing a passion that I've always had, ever since I was a little kid,” Jody says.

Humpback highway opens

As 2025's whale migration season begins, with about 40,000 travellers expected on the East Coast humpback highway, ORRCA teams are ready to go too.

Each year, from October to May, the organisation runs volunteer training sessions, a hands-on experience, complete with custom-made props such as Wendy the Whale, an inflatable about the size of a small whale.

“It's half a day of theory and half a day having a practice with our rescue mats and our big whales,” Lyndell says. “They get filled with water so you get to actually feel the weight.”

"The dolphin is life size and also life weight," Jody says. "So you can feel the heaviness of it.”

Although training involves stranding scenarios, most of ORRCA's work involves advocacy and monitoring. Disentangling marine animals is a skilled and dangerous business, left to trained professionals.

“We don't do ocean rescue,” Lyndell says. “We coordinate with the large whale disentanglement teams – NSW National Parks has those, and also private ones like the Sea World Foundation.”

Watchers in the sky

Volunteers help by providing information.

“We get out there with spotters, with binoculars and drones. We can track whales – we can actually anticipate how fast they're moving," Lyndell says.

“We have a few members with drones. We love members with drones.”

Technology helps track animals on the move that are entangled in fishing gear or shark nets. Last year, 11 humpback whales were freed from entanglements off the NSW coast, according to National Parks and Wildlife, while the Sea World Foundation had 42 reported whale entanglements, only 15 of which were successfully disentangled off southern Queensland and NSW.

“Drones are really important,” Lyndell says. “If we can get photos, disentanglement teams can then start to strategise how they're going to approach the whale.”

ORRCA members have also created an app to calculate a whale’s speed and direction, so rescuers can turn up in the right spot. This information may also be shared via ORRCA’s socials, so the public can help too.

Highlights at Bass Point

Bass Point is one of the Illawarra's most popular whale watching sites for a good reason, says Lyndell, who was part of ORRCA’s annual census day there in 2024.

“I went out there last year with the diehards – the weather was atrocious. We were hiding behind rocks, wind and rain on us, waves pounding away. 

"They're on the northern migration when we do the census and the whales at that point come within 50 metres of the end of the rocks there.”

Volunteers could practically look them in the eye, Lyndell says. “It was that close. They really look into your soul too. They're amazing animals.

“Bass Point’s also really important for them because they often come and rest in there.”

On the return journey, when mums and bubs are heading south, whales bring a different kind of energy.

“They get playful at Bass Point. You can watch them come round and jump and play… like they're teaching the babies how to breach. It's gorgeous."

How to help

ORRCA is a not-for-profit conservation charity. The organisation is entirely run by volunteers and relies heavily on the generosity of donations and dedication of rescue team members to continue their work. Visit www.orrca.org.au.

To report a whale, dolphin, dugong or seal in trouble, call ORRCA’s 24-hour hotline on 02 9415 3333.