A group of Pathfinders and Girl Guides in Clearwater hopped into action to help out some joeys in Australia.
“The Pathfinders are interested in learning about the Australian Wildfire Crisis so we had Claire Hanna (who is from Australia) come in and talk to them about it. She has a sister who works with Vets Beyond Borders, who is a surgical vet nurse, and so they requested that the Pathfinders make name tags for the dozen joeys that were rescued by Vets Beyond Borders,” said Kris Olson, the group’s leader.
Those 12 joeys now reside at Batemans Bay in New South Wales, just under a four-hour drive south of Sydney.
The girls, eight Pathfinders and four Guides, thought they would originally be making clothing items for the rescued animals like kangaroo pouches or bat bags, but it wasn’t necessary. Instead, they were asked to create name tags and name the 12 joeys.
The tags were made in various creative ways, some were knitted, sewn and so on.
“It was totally up to the girls,” said Olson about the tags and the names given to the joeys. “There was some that were Australian themed.”
Examples of names ranged from common names like ‘Avery’ to ‘Walmut,’ a play on ‘wallaby.’
The tags were finished on Jan. 29 and will arrive in Australia sometime next month.
Olson said the project touches on a bunch of program areas.
“There is a component of their program that requires them to help and learn about a global issue and there other program areas like how to do stuff and learn how to do stuff,” Olson said.
The girls, Olson said, have been pretty engaged and have been very interested in learning about Australia’s wildlife. She also mentioned that they were touched by being able to name the 12 joeys. They also showed an interest in the different ways of crafting.
“It was fun as well. They were excited to be involved and learning about these big picture issues.”
Bracelets will also be sold around town, with proceeds going to the Vets Beyond Borders Australia Bushfire Crisis group.
The Pathfinders are planning to stay in touch with the group and keeping tabs on the 12 joeys, as well as volunteering for future tasks.