UPDATE: How your donations helped local wildlife hero Jennie Bryant
Jennie Bryant and the three injured koalas she currently has in her care.
“I’m overwhelmed by the generosity,” Jennie said. “It makes me feel like I’m acknowledged and that I’m not alone.”
Jennie Bryant OAM has been rescuing and caring for injured wildlife across the Mornington Peninsula pretty well all her life, all on a volunteer basis. She’s best known for the Koala Rescue and Rehabilitation Hospital she set up on her Tyabb property. The name is misleading - while Jennie is recognised as a self- taught expert at looking after koalas, she takes in a Noah’s ark of creatures including reptiles, birds and kangaroos.
Local vets, volunteer wildlife rescuers and advocates sing the 71-year-old’s praises. But Jennie runs on the smell of an oily rag.
The combination of drought, rats, foxes and the ever- increasing number of people in the area have made her work more vital than ever.
And she’s desperate to build a huge enclosure over a pond for water loving birds like water fowl and plovers as well as for turtles. She also wants to rebuild another enclosure for other birds.
Jennie is getting ready to clean up one of the smaller bird enclosure she hopes to replace so that it’s rat proof.
Through a combination of a gofundme drive, the proceeds of one of our popular sausage sizzles at the Shoreham Community Market and a native garden workshop, the Shoreham Community Association has raised a more than $9,000 for her to put towards realising that dream.
When the SCA went to see Jennie recently, she and her 78-year-old partner Laurie French were bursting with plans for what they can now achieve.
“I’m overwhelmed by the generosity,” Jennie said. “It makes me feel like I’m acknowledged and that I’m not alone.”
“We’ve had a really tough summer,” Laurie said, “and this has been the shot in the arm she needs to keep going.”
You can read our story about Jennie here.
And you can still donate here:
Jennie and Laurie are grateful for the generosity of our community.