OREANDA-NEWS. November 20, 2014. Hundreds of trainings and seminars are held each year in Sakhalin Energy. In 2012 the company rolled out the oiled wildlife, in particular birds, rehabilitation training.

This year the training was held in late October in the territory of the temporary wildlife rehabilitation centre, which is the only one on Sakhalin and in Russia. For two days the participants gained theoretical knowledge and practical skills in capturing birds in the coastal area of Aniva Bay, administering first aid, transportation and rehabilitation. The training took place in conditions close to real ones, live birds were saved “by the book”: washed, dried, cleaned of contaminants, all in all, the birds returned to their habitat.

According to Zoya Izotova, Senior Environmental Engineer, the training was attended not only by specialists who were duty-bound to receive it, but also by people personally interested in environment protection. The training programme was quite intense: the theoretical part included a lot of new and important information about the features of bird habitats and safety while working in and off the field. In the practical part the trainees mastered capturing and cleaning live birds in the event of contamination. Communication with a veterinary service specialist was interesting and insightful.

For Yulia Kobzeva, Technical Assistant of well delivery team at Technical Directorate, there was no question whether to participate in the training or not. "Of course I decided to participate. After all, this was a unique opportunity to test oneself, to plunge into a new, previously unknown world, learn something new, meet new people, spend time in an unusual atmosphere doing something unordinary, and finally, it was a chance to see environmental protection specialists at work" - shares her impressions Yulia. “I received particular support from my children, who were even more excited than me and asked me how to rescue birds. They proudly accompanied me to the site and in the evening demanded a full account. Having learnt a lot myself, I shared the new knowledge with the children and felt that I ignited a spark of interest and respect for this undoubtedly noble cause and labour".

It was hard labour indeed, and the volunteers were able to see that for themselves. They had to focus on their task and work as a single team because in a real situation the life of a living creature depends on the speed, accuracy and efficient teamwork.

Judging by the comments of the Company's trainees, their expectations have been met. There is no doubt that should the need arise our bird rescuers can be relied on.