| In the spotlight |
| Happy Festive Season from the Vice President |
On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank all of our members for their hard work and dedication throughout the past year and particularly through the recent breeding season. Without you there would be no F.A.U.N.A. and our community and our wildlife would be much poorer.
Next year will be another busy and exciting year for us all. The committee has been working in the background to set up new projects for the coming year. As always fundraising is a big part of what we need to do and the committee is looking at ways that can provide income to ensure that F.A.U.N.A. can continue to do its vital work in wildlife welfare and in community education.
There is always a central core of people in any grass roots group that seem to work harder and contribute more than the general membership. If you’ve occasionally thought that you would like to be more involved how about making 2015 the year for it? The committee can always use more helpers and some large activities are planned which will require more hands.
In the meantime, be safe, be happy, be good so that Santa brings you lots of presents and enjoy the blessings of the Christmas season.
Julie Zyzniewski |
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| Note re November E-news |
The November E-news was emailed on 6 December 2014. However, as we normally get a 40-50% open rate and this time we only received a 10% open rate and many people have said they didn’t receive it, I investigated with our email campaign provider and they have said there were some issues on the day of sending.
Therefore, if you missed the November edition or did not have time to read it the, please click on this link to read it now… |
| Upcoming F.A.U.N.A. events |
| Event schedule for 2015 |
2015 will see the introduction of our new modular (face to face and online) Continuing Professional Development Program. All the details will be fully mapped out in the January E-news, however, we now have the dates confirmed for next year’s events. They are:
Workshop Saturday 7 February 2021
Coominya State School Library
10.00am-14.15pm
Ethics, Legalities, Obligations and Requirements of Wildlife Care, Wildlife Rescue, Wildlife Assessment, Basic Wildlife Care
14.30pm-15.00pm
Working Committee Meeting
Workshop Saturday 21 March 2021
Coominya State School Library
10.00am-14.15pm
Topics to be advised
14.30pm-15.00pm
Management Committee Meeting
Workshop Saturday 2 May 2021
Coominya State School Library
10.00am-14.15pm
Topics to be advised
14.30pm-15.00pm
Working Committee Meeting
Workshop Saturday 13 June 2021
Coominya State School Library
10.00am-14.15pm
Topics to be advised
14.30pm-15.00pm
Management Committee Meeting
Workshop Saturday 25 July 2021
Coominya State School Library
10.00am-14.15pm
Topics to be advised
14.30pm-15.00pm
Working Committee Meeting
Special Event Saturday 22 August 2021
Somerset Winter Wildlife Festival
All day event with night time entertainment
Fernvale Futures Complex and surrounding parkland, Fernvale
AGM Saturday 19 September 2021
Coominya State School Library
10.00am-14.15pm
Annual General Meeting
12.00pm-13.00pm
Working Committee Meeting
13.00pm-14.00pm
Management Committee Meeting
Workshop Saturday 17 October 2021
Coominya State School Library
10.00am-14.15pm
Topics to be advised
14.30pm-15.00pm
Working Committee Meeting
Workshop Saturday 28 November 2020
Coominya State School Library
10.00am-14.15pm
Topics to be advised
14.30pm-15.00pm
Management Committee Meeting
Christmas Event Saturday 12 December 2020
Time and Venue to be advised
Please mark these dates in your calendar. |
| F.A.U.N.A. updates |
| What’s been happening behind the scenes |
The Management Committee has been busy planning for next year’s workshops and events and has been in discussion with Somerset Regional Council to see how we can mutually benefit each other and implement a comprehensive regional wildlife plan.
Many of the details for all of this are still in discussion or planning stages but the January edition of the E-news will map out a lot of the details as well as have our quarterly committee and register head reports.
Stay tuned, we think it’s going to be an exciting year. |
| Around the traps |
| F.A.U.N.A. Christmas Lunch Wrapup |
The F.A.U.N.A. Christmas lunch was held at Porter’s Plainland Hotel on Saturday 13 December 2020 and was attended by approximately fifteen stalwart members of the group. It was great to catch up with everyone in a social setting and enjoy a nice lunch.
Sue has sent a couple of pictures that are posted below. |
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| Hello Wally |
Hello, my name is Denis and my housemate is Oscar. We are Black Stripe wallabies, a very handsome and very talented species. We live with our foster parents Julie Zyzniewski & Chris White along with a mouldy looking cat, lots of chickens and lots of cars. Our favourite is the big white Cadillac. After talking to our foster mum we have decided to write you a letter in case you need to raise a Black Stripe wallaby one day.
Naturally, food is very important to us, but our mum can be very unreasonable. What she likes us to eat is soft grains, grasses, Lucerne hay and stuff like that. What we like to eat is dust bunnies, particularly from under dad’s side of the bed, not too fluffy bath mats, scraps of paper – shopping receipts are particularly tasty, polystyrene boxes that had baby chicks in them, cat biccies, mum’s pot plants, and shoe laces. In between snacks we like to suck on the bottom of the shower curtain and lick stray shoes. Foodwise we really only agree on milk, except we don’t get anywhere near enough of it. We should get milk at least every hour, not every 4 hours like mum insists.
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We love to explore and my personal favourite is little rubbish bins that I can tip over. I have found lots of yummy things in them like blue plastic straws, sweet wrappers, empty bottles that you can stick your tongue into and little cans that you can roll around the floor. Around 3am is a good time because mum & dad talk to us then. What does “stop that racket” and “knock it off, you ratbags” mean? It’s a good idea to leave cupboards and drawers open for us so that we can get in and have a good rummage and toss a few things around. Handbags will do at a pinch. Beds are great too, particularly mum’s waterbed, you can get a really high bounce happening and hop onto the chest of drawers and knock over heaps off stuff. Mirrors are really good too, we can make sure our whiskers are tidy and our ears are straight. It’s a pity that mirrors are in such inconvenient places, like duchesses, bathroom vanities and in cabinets that have pretty things in them because sometimes we have to be a bit creative to get to them and occasionally knock things around.
Mum spends a lot of time walking around the house & verandah & office with a broom and dustpan muttering “filthy grots” while she sweeps up poos. We don’t see a problem because if we have to go, we go. She can just leave it there if she wants to, we don’t mind. I have noticed that if she or dad step on some poos or a little puddle they do a little dance on one foot then hop around chanting “Not again! Don’t they do anything but eat & sit?” (that may not be the right word).
Oscar & I are very clean animals and groom ourselves and each other several times a day. Mum & dad are a bit sloppy by our standards so we help them by cleaning their feet, pulling hairs off their arms, legs and faces, and cleaning their eyes and nose very thoroughly. We usually do it while they are asleep because we like the noises they make while we clean them. I don’t think they appreciate our efforts very much because we often get locked out of the bedroom.
Every day we need to exercise and racing around like idiots is our best fun. We love it when there are visitors sitting on the verandah who don’t know we live there and we bounce past them very fast. Mum just glares at us and says something about people having heart palpitations and toilet accidents. Anyhow, she owes us for cleaning out all those plant pots for her. There’s nothing but dirt in them now, no more of those tasty but untidy green things for her to water and fuss over.
A couple of days a week mum takes us to work with her. She offers us our big travel bags and asks us to hop in. I don’t mind doing this as long as I can stick my head out but Oscar gets grumpy and gives mum his “no, you hop in the bag” look and runs away. Mum has to chase him around the house and usually says “Got you, you little custard” (I thinks that’s the word she uses) because she gets all hot and cranky. Then we sit in our bags with our heads out & watch things going past for a while. Work is a great place because we don’t slip around on the floor there so we can run really fast and scare lots of people. Her workmates like us a lot and leave lots of good things in their rubbish bins for us to rummage in. We like Jedd’s office best because he has particularly interesting stuff in his bin like chewed minty gum. After a hard day at mum’s work we like to relax at home and chew on face washers, which are our favourite treats if mum leaves the linen cupboard door open.
I think that’s all you really need to know about raising Black Stripe wallabies, so goodbye for now and I may write you another letter when I’m bigger
Love, Denis De Wallaby. |
| Carers’ Corner |
| Dehydration in our native animals |
We are experiencing some very warm day and it’s only confirming to us that we are in for a hot summer. Can we please think of our poor wildlife in this heat and leave water out for them.
It doesn’t need to be a huge bucket. I could be as simple as planter saucers and shallow dishes for birds and cut open barrels make great troughs for mammals. |
Plant of the month
Corymbia tessellaris (Moreton Bay Ash, Carbeen) |
Height
Small – 35 metres
Attracts
Brushtail Possums, Ringtail Possums, Gliders, Flying Foxes and Birds
Withstands strong winds, heat and drought and tolerates a moderate amount of salt spray. Propagates from seed.
Flowering midwinter to early summer.
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| Fauna Hire Equipment |
| If you require aviaries, roo pens or other equipment, then please ask Sue Holmes. We have some which you can lease for a refundable deposit of $50 and if you would like to buy them off Fauna, we are happy to look into the value and come up with a good price. We charge a hire deposit now as items have often not been returned when people leave the group. Please remember that if you hire them, they must come back and if they don’t, you will be charged for that equipment. |
| History Sheets |
Please remember to fill out history sheets and hand to Sue Holmes at the end of each year so we can keep accurate records of the wildlife our group cares for and what happens to that wildlife.
If you don’t have a history sheet, please login to the member’s portal and download one here…
If you do not have (or have forgotten) your login details, please email Jacqui on [email protected] and she will assist you. |
| Let’s go shopping |
| Wombaroo Pinky Pouch Oil |
Teats |
A lubricant for furless joeys designed to help with the skin care of joeys orphaned and in human care.
It helps to keep the skin soft and supple and ease peeling due to heating and exposure to the environment when the Joey would normally still be in the pouch.
Non greasy and safe to be ingested. WPP Oil contains no petroleum or paraffins which may have a laxative effect. Made entirely from oils of plant origin and classified food safe. It is an oil that is naturally present in the milk of several species (e.g. rabbits, goats, horses and human breast milk).
BENEFITS: Rapidly absorbs into skin to form a protective barrier; softens and soothes skin; lubricates by reducing friction against the pouch liner; does not contain moisture so is not prone to microbial or fungal growth; completely free of synthetic preservatives.
Available in 250gram bottles from www.wombaroo.com.au |
Silicone: Baby Critter Teats
View on Facebook
Phone 07 4789-0573
Silicone: Burston Blues
Email [email protected]
Mobile 04 2972 7837
Various: Australian Wildlife Supplies
Email [email protected]
Phone 07 5426 8088
Mobile 0417 749 501 |
| Possum boxes |
Kathy Silk
Phone 07 5465 6935 or Mobile 0410 334 661
$25.00 per box |
| Rodents |
The Rat Shed
Phone 07 5424 6519 |
| Milk formula |
Native plants |
Gatton Produce (E.M Redmonds & Co P/L)
Phone 07 5462 1139
Divet $24-00 per kilo and has most other formulae on hand |
Pete’s Hobby Nursery
10 Patrick St, Lowood QLD 4311
Phone 07 5426 1690 or Mobile 0412 243 740 |
| Show us the money |
| Crowd funding a food bank |
Don’t forget our crowd funding campaign to raise money for a food bank which will supply formula, teats, etc. to F.A.U.N.A. carers. We have set a goal for this campaign of $5000.
Please visit our campaign, donate if you can, defiinitely share it far and wide with your family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances across any social media channels you play in http://www.gofundme.com/f859u8 |
| Ways to engage with F.A.U.N.A. |
| E-news contributions |
| F.A.U.N.A. will be issuing electronic newsletters each month. Each edition will be full of events, information and tips for wildlife carers. Every three months, the E-news will include the quarterly reports from the committees and registers.
If you have an article, item or tip you would like to see in the E-news, please send it to Shona Ford on [email protected] before the end of each month or call her on 04 5948 4938 to arrange an article. If you think you will be a regular contributor, please contact the Webmaster, Jacqui Blanch on [email protected] or call her on 07 5465 6190 to arrange direct upload access. |
| Road Kill |
Please keep a register of road kill and send this information to Sue as this helps us to determine where animals are crossing, where the high fatality areas are and also which species are most at risk. Remember to check for live joeys.
This information is sometimes requested by Councils and Government Authorities and can be helpful in promoting the protection of wildlife and also in raising funds for grass roots volunteer organisations such as ourselves. |
