natural disaster

Protecting and rehabilitating Australian wildlife

by Rakhal Ebeli

In what has since been described as one of Australia’s greatest natural disasters, the devastating bushfires of Summer 2019/20 decimated native flora, fauna and communities across many parts of the country.

One area hit especially hard was New South Wales’ South-East coast where the blazes not only left thousands of residents out of home, but tragically also claimed the lives of billions of animals in the region too.

With a proud history of loving animals and the devastated region - in fact, a “home away from home” for three generations of Natio’s founding family - Natio felt compelled to offer assistance in a meaningful way. In the months following the blaze, the family-owned skincare and cosmetics brand reached out to the Wildlife Rescue South Coast and formed a powerful partnership to support the volunteers in their bushfire response.

Operating 24 hours a day through 100% volunteer contributions, the WRSC is dedicated to the rehabilitation and rescue of animals along the coastline.These fires were the worst they had responded to since the organisation was formed more than 30 years ago.

With Natio’s funding and support, food and formula were made available to the orphaned and injured animals in the WRSC’s care.

“The contribution Natio made was incredible and greatly received” says WRSC volunteer Janine Davies, who has been with the organisation for nearly a decade.

“Wildlife groups like us are entirely volunteer based, with no government funding. The donation went directly towards critical needs for thousands of displaced and injured animals in our care. The food and formula went straight into the mouths of kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, birds, flying foxes and man other injured species.”

Natio also called on its vast community of more than 60,000 customers and friends to inform themselves of the WRSC’s efforts to help to continue to raise valuable funds towards the cause.

In heartening news, residents have reported that just in the last few months, they are starting to see eucalyptus leaves sprouting from the ashes of burnt-out trees - a sign of new life, bringing fresh hope to those who’ve witnessed so much devastation in their region.

If you’d like to contribute to the efforts of the WRSC, you can go to their website at: https://www.wildlife-rescue.org.au/