By Kyra Gillespie
Between them, Gaylene Black and Robyn Harward have made over 260 cotton mittens and pouches for wildlife injured in the Bunyip State Park fire.
The Narre Warren South pair, just two in hundreds who have taken on the charitable initiative, were spurred into action after seeing a callout by Emerald-based animal shelter Warriors 4 Wildlife.
“When the fires were in full swing we felt helpless; we could see the smoke from our homes, it was in our own backyard and happening to people we knew,“ Gaylene said.
“We were wondering – what could we do? So many people were helping with food drop-offs and the rest, when I saw this I knew it was something I could help with. I thought, I can sew, I can do this.
“Not many people sew anymore – it’s our generation and older but younger? Not so much. We come from sewers; our mothers were sewers, our grandmothers were sewers. Because we could do this, we did.“
Just like any burns victims, dressings need to be changed daily, meaning a constant supply of mittens is needed by wildlife carers.
They have to be 100 per cent cotton.
Gaylene and Robyn sourced the cotton from local op shops, repurposing baby blankets and pillow sheets to create the soft pockets.
“It’s not something you immediately think about when there’s a bushfire, you think of the people first,“ Robyn said.
“But actually, these animals are in need. Their homes have been destroyed.
“It’s an easy, simple pattern that anyone can do. There will never be a needs shortage for pouches and mittens.“
Warriors 4 Wildlife founder Karla Penn said she has been blown away by sheer amount of donations following the fires.
“Within the first hour of putting up the post it went gangbusters; we already have several thousand mittens alone,“ she said.
“I just had someone drop off 900 mittens, and the ladies that did the poppies to mark WWI have been doing them too; we get bags daily.
“We’ve then been sending them out with medical packs to all the shelters surrounding the fire zones.
“There could never be too many; every day shelters and carers go through so many pouches so having that regular supply makes it a lot easier.“
Ms Penn founded the shelter back in 2015, she cares for animals full-time and has around 50 volunteers helping her.
She said funding opportunities are few and far between, but desperately needed.
“There’s no funding, aside from the occasional grant for a couple thousand here and there. We go through a lot more than that; there’s the cost of vet bills, and as soon as medication comes in it gets really expensive.
“Even fuel costs; with the fires my vehicle alone has done over 5000 kilometres, locating animals and transporting them to the help they need.
“Every little bit helps towards those additional costs, because it’s those little costs that get expensive; we’re happy to put in our own time, but help with things like that makes a world of difference.“
She also needs more sets of hands to help with the animals.
“The help and feedback we have received has been amazing, but I with there was more help like that everyday for the day to day operations because there’s still a significant amount of wildlife that come in everyday needing care. It only takes a natural disaster for people to band together.“
Ms Penn believes Warriors 4 Wildlife will be assisting animals injured in the Bunyip Complex Fires for at least six to 12 months.
“We’re not allowed in the State Park yet, and the fire is still going. There’s going to be many animals out there still needing rescue and support, whether it’s medically or with feeding. It will take a while for all those trees and grass and shrubs to grow back.“
Over 15,500 hectares of the Bunyip State Park has been charred by fire so far.
Anyone interested in volunteering or donating can head to Warriors 4 Wildlife online to find out more.
