NEWS
Helping our furry friends By Taylah Eastwell Two Hills wildlife shelters have been overwhelmed by the number of animals requiring support since the June 9 storms. Monbulk’s Wild Paws Wildlife Shelter and Selby’s Amaroo Wildlife Shelter have been inundated with over 40 animals requiring care after suffering injuries or becoming orphaned during the superstorm. With both shelters run and self-funded by tireless volunteers, food bills were racking up high with all the extra mouths to feed. Wild Paws Wildlife Shelter owner Nell Pedzik described the storm as “apocalyptic for the area”. “I’ve lived here for nearly 25 years and I’ve never seen a storm come through like that one,” she said. “It felt like a localised natural disaster, I just remember seeing all the old growth trees and hollows and thinking about all the birds and possums and all the animals trying to get out of the area who were displaced or hit on roads,” she said. Ms Pedzik said winter is meant to be the “quiet time of year, but it definitely doesn’t feel that way”. Her Monbulk shelter is spread across 22-acres of bushy forest, making it the perfect place for orphaned animals to grow up and be released when the time comes. “I’ve had somewhere close to 40 come in, wombats, possums, sugar gliders, a little pygmy possum, and a couple of animals that we’ve released already. I’m taking anything we get calls about,” she said. When word got out about the two shelters being overrun, Donalea Patman, founder of For The Love of Wildlife, was eager to help – using her platform to call for help and set up a Go Fund Me. “I put the focus on Wild Paws and Amaroo because these girls are at the coalface and they basically have no support. While there was so much money raised after the bushfires these
Nell Pedzik, owner of Wild Paws Wildlife Shelter cuddles a wombat in her care. guys were kind of forgotten because they are just small operators,” Ms Patman said. “We had a gentleman by the name of Barry who heard the girls needed a quad bike and donated his,” she said. The quad bike was delivered by Barry on Saturday 10 July. Ms Pedzik said the donation of the quad bike was a game-changer in helping her care for the animals. “It’s a massive help, mine had stopped working and it was important for me because I’m on a steep hill and needed to be able to get food and hay to animals down there. I was bringing food and water up and down on a kayak, which was getting very exhausting. I desperately need it for the wombats because I’ve been cutting branches and dragging them up the hill,” she said.
Barry delivers the quad bike to Nell at Wild Paws Wildlife Shelter on Saturday 10 July.
Amaroo wildlife shelter was also donated a generator and radios for the girls to share from Bell Real Estate Olinda. The two shelters also received a number of new pouches for young wildlife. Money raised through the Go Fund Me also saw a baby wombat undergo a critical surgery to her leg, leaving Ms Pedzik feeling extremely grateful to the generous community members who donated. The wombat, named Emma after her rescuer, was found in the pouch of her mum who had been hit by a car. After she was cut out and placed at Wild Paws, Ms Pedzik noticed Emma was dragging her leg and took her for x-rays which revealed “quite a bad break”. “I began to organise an orthopedic surgeon to do surgery which isn’t that common in wild-
life. She’s was on pain relief until her surgery to keep her comfortable and had her surgery today (Wednesday 14 July) and it was successful, which is great news,” she said. The shelters are now raising money for ongoing care of wombats, who are expected to stay at Wild Paws for up to two years, as well as a new wombat enclosure for all the new arrivals. Ms Patman said “wildlife shelters at coalface always seem to be severely under-resourced and as a community we need to consider them when we have extreme weather events or disasters. We always focus on humans, but we need to consider wildlife.” Find the Go Fund Me at https:// au.gofundme.com/f/wombat-enclosure-fororphaned-wombats?qid=cbd90f0398388f98aa 2dcf9358e3ed49
Upwey community unites for storm relief By Taylah Eastwell The village of Upwey may be quaint, but the community there has huge heart. After the storm, local groups including Upwey Men’s Shed, Upwey Community Group and Soupee joined forces to run an emergency relief hub at the Upwey Township Hall. Generous members of the community donated funds and staple items to the men’s shed to ensure no one in the village went without, including food and much sought after batteries during the power outages. The donations and offers of help were forwarded to the Belgrave Community Hub for distribution to residents of the wider mountain community.
Upwey Men’s Shed president Gerran Wright said “the local community has been fantastic and it is heartwarming to see the assistance received” at the relief centre. Having now closed the centre, the men’s shed donated a cheque to Dandenong Ranges Emergency Relief, using leftover funds donated by locals. The funds were originally to be used by the men’s shed to assist people directly affected by the disastrous storms to cook food and provide a warm and welcoming venue at the relief centre. But in another act of community spirit, the food was generously donated by Upwey IGA and Upwey Village bakery, and cooking done by members of the men’s shed, so the funds weren’t used.
“Upwey Men’s Shed thought the best way to use the funds was to donate them to the Dandenong Ranges Emergency Relief Service who guaranteed the money will get to those in need,” Mr Wright said. Mr Wright presented the cheque to John from Dandenong Ranges Emergency Relief on 9 July. The men’s shed welcomes all newcomers to attend their regular meetings at the Upwey Township Hall every Monday and Wednesday morning, and the first and third Wednesday evenings of each month. The group aims to build a community workshop in Upwey where members can work on individual and group projects of benefit to the community and to members.
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Upwey Men’s Shed president Gerran Wright presents the cheque to John from Dandenong Ranges Emergency Relief.
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