A few “joey sacks” that will be sent to Australia, made by Tasha Nowak.
A few “joey sacks” that will be sent to Australia, made by Tasha Nowak.
The devastating fires in Australia have been a dominating topic in the news recently and many people around the world have been doing what they can to help, including Winlock citizen Tasha Nowak.
Nowak is helping out by collecting fabric and sewing it into “joey sacks” — pouches that warm the animal in care and can be used to carry them around. A joey is an Australian term for a baby animal, usually a baby kangaroo. The pouches are made from a cotton or flannel fabrics.
Christopher Dickman, a professor of ecology at the University of Sydney wrote in an article for the Washington Post that the impact of the fires on Australian biodiversity is immense.
“Using average population density values for native birds, reptiles and terrestrial mammals, I have estimated that more than a billion of these animals have been killed. The estimate is conservative, as it does not include bats or other classes of vertebrate,” said Dickman.
In the wake of the death and habitat destruction caused by the fires many animals were displaced, injured, or orphaned and need care.
“I was inspired to help because whenever something bad happens I always feel like I want to help, but don’t know how or feel I just flat-out cannot. One of my friends shared a post that stated ‘calling all crafters’ I read it and I knew right then that’s how I can help,” said Nowak.
The group that Nowak is involved in is the Washington branch of American Rescue Crafters, which is described on the groups Facebook page as “a localized group for those interested in creating rescue items for animals using knitting, crochet and sewing. We are following information and guidelines from the greater American Rescue Crafters Connect and the Animal Rescue Crafters Guild based out of Australia.”
Nowak said that she stayed up late one night doing research on ways she could help and started contacting people who were involved in the efforts to help Australia. She discovered that the United States is divided up into “hubs” that collect donated items and get them to Australia. All donations from Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, and Hawaii are collected at one hub located in Bellevue. The next shipment of items at Bellevue will be sent to Australia on Jan. 20. Nowak said that anything that is left over after the final shipment will be donated to local animal shelters.
“I’ve been cutting and sewing when I have the chance. I watch children during the week so I get more done on some days than others. My grandma and I will be cutting and sewing up more so I can get them off to our hub,” said Nowak.
Nowak is looking for donations of 100-percent cotton fabric or “flannelette”, a type of flannel fabric sold at Joann’s fabrics, from smoke-free homes. Nowak encouraged anyone who has donations or questions to reach out and she would be happy to help. She can be reached at tashanowak@hotmail.com.
“The sewing patterns are very easy. The animals do not judge on color, print or skill.” said Nowak.
