10/23/2019 0 Comments Camping and wildlifeAre you CAMPING THIS SUMMER What impact does camping have on wildlife? If you are camping in areas along rivers, it is really, really important that you help our wildlife. When campers are not around (most of the year), our wildlife drink from our rivers. Koalas in particular, will live in the trees right along the rivers. Its the best spot for them with cool breezes, access to water if and when they need it and you will find that the healthiest trees are along the water. Water is life and that goes for our wildlife too. Popular spots to camp though, are ON rivers. This means that wildlife will retreat back into the bush and won't always feel safe enough to come back to the river when they need to drink. Especially when there are not only humans around, but dogs! MAJOR Camping Threat I love to take our dog, Rey (a bearded collie) camping with it. She loves coming away with her family too. We know many people feel the same and thankfully, we can take them into State Forests and some caravan parks. However, its really important that you keep dogs on leads at ALL times. If an animal is in need of help, it will most likely be on the ground or very low in a tree. Right at the perfect spot for a dog to find it. If your dog is roaming it will most likely find animals when they are vulnerable. You can buy leads that are 10 or 15mts long which still gives your dog freedom but restricts it enough. Keeping dogs on leads is not only to protect our wildlife, but also your dog. Snakes are always around and you never know where they will be. Kangaroos can attack if they feel threatened and are powerful enough to kill a dog. Even if your dog is little, super friendly or has never attacked anything before- they are unpredictable and a threat to our wildlife. How can you help our wildlife while you are camping? If you are camping, can you leave some water bowls in the bush near you? Please don't leave bowls "in" your camp because you don't want wildlife to have to come into your camp to get water. They need to feel and be safe, so leave it a good distance from you or any other campers. Maybe put some ice cream tubs in trees? Its a great time for people to be the voices for our wildlife. Lookout for them. If you see something not quite right, call it in. Ask advice. Have someone come out and check the animal. The great rescuers will not be angry for getting a call for a healthy animal that's not under threat. NO call is a waste! So just make a call and ask advice.
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10/23/2019 0 Comments I need your help“I need your help.
Not a selfie Not you standing over me Not you or your kids patting me Not your dog sniffing me. I need you to call for help!” Imagine this....... You are feeling sick, lets say you have a migraine. People are crowding around you. People are touching you. People are letting a lion (something most of us would fear) come up and sniff you. People just want to get a photo of you while you are at your most vulnerable. Your head is pounding so much, you can't even seem to function let alone tell them to be quiet, or go away or that you need help. This is what its like for our wildlife when they feel sick so please, give them space, now is not the time for a pat or a photo or to let your kids or pets get close to them. They need your respect and their space. Generally, if you can approach an animal and it does not move- it needs help! Standing over them or patting them ONLY CAUSES THE ANIMAL MORE STRESS. Please be sure to keep your distance, call for help and wait for help to arrive. Note- this photo was taken by a wildlife rescuer in training. This koala had been assessed by a trained rescuer and the rescuer was getting the necessary equipment to bring this animal in. Photo was taken from a distance to avoid further stress. 10/23/2019 0 Comments Drought effects us all"Drought effects us all!" Our wildlife need our help now more than ever. With our country in drought- our environment cannot give to our wildlife, the nutrients and water sources that it normally does. With dryer winters and hotter summers- our wildlife need just one thing from us----- water! Koalas are not commonly known to drink however, in recent times we are seeing them seek water more. If you live in areas where koalas are, go and have a look at the trees that you see them sitting in. Look at the leaves. You will probably notice that the leaves may seem paler than normal? Not as vibrant in colour? In some areas trees have been effected by Black Spot (koalas don't like leaves with black spot) and other disease due to the dryer than normal conditions. Our trees aren't getting the nutrients and water that they need to be healthy. As the weather warms up, all kinds of wildlife will need help. Birds, reptiles, possums, koalas, kangaroos, echidna's etc. Leaving out some buckets or trays of water can literally help save a life! TIPS- Provide water but not food. Our wildlife just need water from us! Leave bowls of fresh, clean water out in shady locations. Shallow dishes are better for smaller animals. If you use a large container make sure to provide a rock or stick so that small animals can climb out. Place the container in an area where animals are protected from predators when drinking e.g. near a shrub or bush and keep your pets away from this area so that animals can drink undisturbed. Keep the water topped up and fresh if possible. So even though its not yet summer- now is a great time to be thinking of places and ways that you can leave water out for wildlife. Maybe a project for the weekend? Get the kids involved and learn about what animals are in your area that you can help out with some water. Please also think of wildlife if you are lucky enough to be going on holidays over the summer- pack a few ice cream containers for the trip! 10/12/2019 0 Comments Enclosure TourWant to have a tour of one of the brand new enclosures that I recently donated to Dutch Thunder Wildlife Shelter?
Watch this video- https://youtu.be/irVgo6PJweg We have put together this video to show you around and also THANK the amazing people and businesses that have made this enclosure possible. We hope you enjoy it. Thank you to - Mary Scott and James Bannon for donating the enclosure - Reece Plumbing Diamond Creek for the browse (food) holders - Bunnings Eltham for donating the timber for the water bowl holders - Golden Turf for donating the amazing turf for the ground Thank you also to everyone that Donates 2 Buy items, you can see the cobweb brush and dust pan/broom hanging on the front of the enclosure. Both are $5 items that make cleaning the enclosure much easier. Please get behind Libby and donate what you can to help her to continue to support shelters & rescuers with items like this. Donation methods: Bank transfer Libby Fisher BSB: 063 594 AC: 1040 1537 Ref: Donate 2 Buy Why not setup an automatic direct deposit and donate $5 or $10 a week? Credit card https://chuffed.org/pay/campaign/56462 (Please note- you do NOT have to pay the "TIPPING" fee to chuffed.) All direct deposit donations will be recorded on the above chuffed fundraiser. This is my 10 year old brother, Sawyer. One of his favourite animals is the wombat. He’s used some of his pocket money to buy these fresh foods for me to take up to Dutch Thunder Wildlife Shelter. This is not his first donation either. He just loves wombats!
The corn was just $1 a packet and the sweet potato was “odd bunch”. Just $10.50 bought all this! Shows that just a little bit of money can make a huge difference! Well done Sawyer!!!! Want to help with purchase like this? Donate any amount- it all adds up and it all helps! Donation methods: Bank transfer Libby Fisher BSB: 063 594 AC: 1040 1537 Why not setup an automatic direct deposit and donate $5 or $10 a week? Credit card https://chuffed.org/pay/campaign/56462 All donations will be recorded on the above chuffed fundraiser PS- yes there's plastic. not our preference at all but for $1 per packet its a waste to leave it there. 10/12/2019 1 Comment Shopping Bargains!When you go to the supermarket and find corn for $1 for a packet of 4 cobs! Whoopsie 😂🌽🛒
$25 well spent (aside from the plastic packaging) Simple purchase like this help shelters SO much! What eats cobs? Wombats Possums Want to Help Libby with donations like this? Bank transfer Libby Fisher BSB: 063 594 AC: 1040 1537 Ref: Donate 2 Buy Why not setup an automatic direct deposit and donate $5 or $10 a week? Or add some items from her list to your shopping trolley when they are on sale (non perishables) and drop them to 16 parook court, diamond creek. See her shopping wish list here- http://libbyskoalacrusade.weebly.com/donate-2-buy.html 10/12/2019 0 Comments Nillumbik Youth GroupLast month I was asked by Katie from Nillumbik Youth if I would come and share my work with her and her co-worker Hanna. They are a part of the Youth and Community Partnerships team. It was great to be able to share the work I have done. We also talked about the possibility of getting a group of youth together to talk about things we do in our community in the hopes of inspiring others, showing others what they can do and of course, learning new things ourselves. I think this would be a wonderful thing to be able to be a part of and great for communities to do. Letting kids teach/inspire other kids through the work they are doing.
Thank you Katie and Hanna for inviting me to talk to you. I hope to hear from you again soon 10/12/2019 1 Comment Diamond Creek Sewing Group- Sew SocialLast month I met up with Sandra and some of the girls from the Sew Social group who are part of the Nillumbik Living & Learning Maker Space.
Sandra had picked up some materials for the group to sew into pouches and she asked me to come and see what the ladies had done and talk about my work. It was nice to be able to share with the what their pouches will do. The day I donated some of these pouches to St Andrews Wildlife shelter, sadly one was quickly put to use. To comfort this Joey kangaroo that was found alone in a paddock. Thanks to those that donate blankets to be made into pouches. Thanks to those in my “sewing army” that help make them. Thankyou again to Sandra and the girls from Sew Social in Diamond Creek for making these amazing pouches and liners. 10/6/2019 0 Comments Tree HollowsSo many amazing hollows along the Murray River in Koonoomoo. We were lucky enough to see a Rosella nesting in one.
Hollows are so important to our wildlife. So many animals and birds use them as homes/nests to keep their young safe from predators. This is why trees need to be left alone- to get old enough to develop hollows. Without them, species die. Only old trees have hollows. As they fall and die or are logged or cleared, they can not be replaced without 100 or more years of growth, maturity and decay. In Australia many native vertebrate and invertebrate species utilise tree hollows. Many of these species use hollows, and in south east Australia this includes some 17 % of bird species, 42 % of mammals and 28 % of reptiles (Gibbons and Lindenmayer 1997). They include bats, possums, gliders, owls, parrots, antechinus, ducks, rosellas and kingfishers as well as numerous species of snakes, frogs and skinks. Hopefully these pictures can show people why its very important to protect these trees. Especially in camping areas like along the Murray River. Cutting down any trees for firewood is ILLEGAL even if they look old or "dead." So if you are camping - remember to only take branches that have already fallen to the ground for your fires. - cutting ANY trees is ILLEGAL - dragging branches behind your car through the bush is ILLEGAL If you see someone cutting trees down - take photos and videos - call Parks to report them Allowing people to get away with this not only puts our right of FREE CAMPING at risk of being stopped but also, destroys our bush and puts our wildlife at risk. Leave the bush how you found the bush (and includes taking your rubbish home with you.) Don't burn our trees that give us shade, help produce water and keep our wildlife safe- reduce the fuel load on the ground and take from there. 10/6/2019 0 Comments Murray River WildlifeI could spend all my days happily wandering the bush watching our wildlife. We are truly the lucky ones living in a country like Australia that has so much amazing wildlife.
These were all taken around the Koonoomoo area in Northern Victoria along the Murray River. Now (spring) is a great time to be out in the bush because its not too hot and the animals are quite active and healthy. With our summers getting hotter- they are much more vulnerable in summer along with the added restriction of their habitat in summer due to the river being so busy with campers. The animals like to live along the river edges and with campers taking prime spot in the heat of summer- they are forced back into the bush and away from the access to the water when they need it. Koalas don't often drink however, with our hotter summers and dryer winters, they are not getting the "moisture" from the leaves that once kept them hydrated. This is why so many are now seen to be drinking water and why access to water sources in heat, is vital to their populations. Coming up to summer I hope to share some tips about ways you can help our wildlife this summer- especially if you are camping or taking a holiday in areas where there is wildlife. They will need our help and anyone can help them by doing some simple things. Hope you enjoy these photo's my mum took. |
AuthorMy name is Libby and I am 13 years old. I am a Koala Crusader- raising money and awareness for our VULNERABLE koala's and spreading messages about our wildlife that we are lucky enough to live WITH. These are stories written by ME! Archives
June 2020
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