Profile: Jason Chichocki

LOCAL PROFILE: JASON CICHOCKI All Creatures Great and Small

By Penny Edmanson

A fledgling magpie lies in an Anglesea driveway with an apparent broken leg. A distressed young kangaroo, separated from its mother, is hopping the streets of Torquay.

A homeowner, alerted by his dog’s barking, finds a baby tawny frogmouth no more than a ball of fluff and not yet able to fly. A Lorne resident is concerned about a koala that has been down on the ground for a couple of days unable to return to the treetops for essential nutrients.

What is the common denominator in the sparing of these creatures from an untimely death? Jason Cichocki – our very own ‘Wildlife Warrior’. Jason has always loved animals, having a strong connection with them from childhood. Growing up in Central Victoria, he and his twin brother would sit in the bush watching all the creatures that would gradually emerge from their surroundings. As part of a family that loved and looked after animals, he grew up on a horse-rescue property and even at a young age would save money from his paper round to buy the horses that were destined for the knackery. However, it was a particular incident 10 years ago that drew his attention to the urgent need for help locally. As fate would have it that day, Jason witnessed

Jason Chichocki, wildlife rescuer

David Burrell from Leopold Wildlife Services tending a large kangaroo that had been hit by a car and broken its leg. When David needed assistance, Jason stepped up. David was so impressed with Jason’s natural ability that he was keen to take him under his wing and teach him all he knew of wildlife rescue.

This was a pivotal moment in Jason’s life. Rather than being one of the many saying ‘someone needs to do something’, Jason decided to lead by example and dedicate the rest of his time on the planet to helping as many animals as possible. For many years, Jason was a sole operator, but about three years ago he and his partner Remedios started a group simply known as Surf Coast Wildlife Rescue.

The group has grown to be an effective wildlife rescue operation with more than 70 individuals dedicating their time to helping the wildlife of this region. Most of the volunteers have busy lives with jobs and families to attend to, however they are united in their willingness to make themselves available to help wildlife whenever required. Often having to drop everything to respond to a call, Jason fortunately is his own boss. He relies on his loyal employees to keep his business, South West Automotive Services, running when he has to head out to help an animal in distress.

Although Jason is the main man for receiving calls, it is not unusual to receive upward of 10 to 15 requests for rescues in a day, and this is only achievable with the help of his dedicated team.

Based in Torquay, Surf Coast Wildlife Rescue services an area that stretches around the coast from Apollo Bay to Geelong, and inland to places such as Lara, Meredith, Bannockburn, Dean’s Marsh and Forrest.

Due to the diversity of animals around us, wildlife rescue in this region sees Jason and his team rescuing animals of all shapes and sizes: from little fairywrens and honey-eaters to wedgetails and seabirds, from bats, echidnas and possums, to koalas, wallabies and kangaroos. Jason believes that our planet belongs to all creatures great and small, and sees our role is to co-exist rather than dominate. It disturbs him to see the increasing dislocation that is a result of urban development. Sadly, by far the greatest number of call-outs is for kangaroos hit by cars and sadly they often cannot be saved.

Jason is heartened by the fact that the majority of people care about animals. “Vigilance by the community is the crucial first step in the chain,” he says. “The rescue process starts when a person sees an animal, realises it needs help and takes the action to call us. “Without people doing that, we couldn’t do what we do”. His goal is for every resident to have his number in their phone.

With the ever-growing number of rescues, Jason is always looking for volunteers. No experience is required, just a love of animals and Jason will provide the rest. Just give him a call.

Already, knowledge of Jason’s work is widespread throughout the community, with ‘Call Jason’ commonly heard when a distressed animal is found, be it in the bush, beach or backyard. What few would realise, however, is that Surf Coast Wildlife Rescue relies solely on donations, and the volunteers often resort to their own pockets. With the huge area serviced, thousands of kilometres can be covered and petrol is one of the group’s greatest expenses. Somewhat bewildered by his near celebrity status in the community, Jason remains humble. “My main focus is the animals. I don’t do this for recognition of any sort. The only acknowledgement I need is to know people have my number in their phones and will be proactive when they see an animal who needs help.” Many of us have already called on Jason for help and many more will in the future.

Let’s support him now with a donation. It could be cash or a fuel card. Even old blankets and sheets are gratefully received, and be sure to put his number in your phone!

LOCAL PROFILE: SARAH MEDLAND Caring for Community Near and Far

By Liz Clark Years of involvement in sporting activities have given Sarah Medland a sense of community, a desire to do things well, strong team spirit and a commitment to achieving her dreams.

Topped with natural exuberance and a caring nature, Sarah is brilliantly equipped to take on her job as a teacher, to pursue her artistic activities and to accept the challenges of volunteering and offering financial support to a small community in Kenya. Growing up in Melbourne with two sisters and a brother, school and sport kept life full and busy for Sarah. Since she was quite small, the family rented a house in Anglesea for the holidays, and she became involved in the Surf Club here, joined Nippers, and spent most of her summers on the beach, hence her love for this beautiful place.

Sarah Medland has holidayed in Anglesea most of her life. Her parents purchased a property in Anglesea about 18 years ago, and the family spent every available holiday and weekend here, at least as much as a busy sporting life allowed. Netball and rowing became her favourite sports, although ongoing injuries have meant a number of serious surgeries and consequent time out. During her teens, she accepted a rowing scholarship to Miami which offered her many amazing opportunities, and allowed her to finish her schooling and then a teaching degree in the US. Now in her eighth year of teaching, Sarah really loves her chosen career. The demands of this year have offered lots of challenges, and her Year 2 class has benefitted from her specific involvement with Mama Cynthia project in Mumias, rural Kenya. This project provides health care and education for disabled children from age 0 -18 years, and was named in honour of a woman who carried her granddaughter Cynthia (who suffered from cerebral palsy) for miles each week for her therapy. Sarah’s sister Jess was completing an Occupational Therapy final placement in this village in 2009, and was so touched by both the plight of the children and the strength and determination of their mothers and grandmothers, that she wanted to continue to do all she could to help

Sarah supports children as part of the Mama Cynthia project in Kenya. them on an ongoing basis. She easily recruited the support of her family. The Mama Cynthia project aims to educate the local community about disability awareness and burns prevention, to assist the children with their education, make aids and equipment, upskill local professionals and provide opportunities for corrective surgery for children with a diverse range of disabilities. Sarah and her family and friends offer their support to the project through various types of fund raising on an ongoing basis, and through visits to the village to provide teaching and medical assistance. Sarah commented that money can go a long way there, as

many everyday things are not so expensive as they are in Melbourne. They have been able to provide muchneeded medical equipment, while her sisters Jess and Jenni managed to obtain some vital medical machinery, no longer used in hospitals here, that would otherwise be totally out of reach for this small community. Their fundraising also supports a monthly food drop to six families, supplies rent to cover the cost of a classroom for a small school starting in the village, and assists with vocational training costs for the teacher. For more information see their website mamacynthia.wixsite.com/mamacynthia

Being so closely in touch and involved with this project has infused Sarah with enthusiasm for helping others. She endeavours to instil into her Melbourne students a sense of gratitude for the wonderful everyday opportunities they have living in Australia, and she links her class curriculum to other issues around the world so that the children actually realise that not everyone has opportunities as they do.

Majoring in elementary education and studio art for her degree has allowed Sarah to follow her teaching career and to begin a small part-time business as a creative artist.

Big Bear and Little Birdie was born after Sarah was recuperating from hip surgery and needed an outlet for her energy and busy mind. After discussing both creative and business ideas in depth with her dad, she decided to begin her small business making baby teething rings and dummy clips, polymer lanyards, necklaces and keyrings, and sustainable beeswax wraps – at least to start with. She is well known and her beautiful handcrafts are very well accepted at the Aireys Inlet Market as well as online. See Sarah’s website www.bigbearandlittlebirdie.com for the full range of beautiful crafts available. Continual reconnection with the coast, especially through the market, has brought Sarah back more and more

Baby teething rings made by Sarah.

frequently to her old stomping ground and she has a dream for the future that certainly involves living in the area and continuing her work and many projects in a less hectic atmosphere than Melbourne offers. She also hopes to return to Kenya sometime next year to continue her work with the people in Mumias.

By Marcelle Renkin, Program Coordinator Community House Reopens its Doors

We officially reopened the House to visitors on 23 November, and we are very excited to have people back through the door – and to hear the sound of chitter-chatter as people come and leave classes, or drop in for a visit and a chat.

Coming up over the next few months, we have a return to the House of our regular interest/meet-up groups, including Talking Points, CWA meetings, Stitchery and Bookclub. We also have a few new courses on offer, teaming up with the Bellarine Training and Community Hub, to offer a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, First Aid, Beeswax-wrap making, Ayurveda Yoga, Inamojo for kids, and Movement and Mindfulness for young adults. Anglesea Farmers Market Returns While the doors were officially ‘closed’, Julie and I were busy working on preparing for our Farmers’ Market season and are excited to be able to bring the market back, and to have seen people coming together in a COVID-safe way. Our markets will run the first and third Friday of each month in the ACH carpark up until the end of March 2021. As part of our market, we are providing the opportunity for

local community groups to fundraise by running the BBQ. Please get in touch with us if your community group is keen

to go on the BBQ roster for future markets.

The Anglesea Farmers Market will operate on the first and third Fridays of the month outside the Anglesea Community House.

Resale Shed Reopens

We have also been working very hard to reopen the Resale Shed at the Anglesea Transfer Station, aka the Tip Shop, and are happy to announce that it is reopening on 12 December. We are putting a shout-out to people to send us a ‘before’ and ‘after’ photo of something you have repurposed or upcycled from the Tip Shop. New Website

ACH is looking forward to the launch of its new website, so keep a look out in February for our launch date. A new feature of our website, an online directory for Anglesea, will help people become more connected with existing local groups, clubs and events, and navigate their way around all the wonderful things that happen in our communities. The development of this feature on the new website is an example of the way in which we work collaboratively with community leaders, organisations and individuals to support initiatives that align with Community House strategic objectives. The idea for an interactive online directory – a one-stop-shop where you can learn how to join a group, get connected and find out what’s on in Anglesea – grew out of our participation in the Community Leaders online forums, which were an initiative of the Community Bank Anglesea & District and Anglesea Community Network, during COVID-19 lockdown. These forums have provided a fantastic opportunity to better understand how we can collaborate and work together, to create a connected vibrant community.