For over a month now Australia has been on fire. An unprecedented summer bushfire season has burned over 4.6 million hectares, with lives lost and hundreds of homes destroyed. An estimated 500 million animals have perished. And with the country just one month into summer, there’s no end or relief in sight.
A lot of people are angry, including us. But rather than feel overwhelmed or consumed by that anger we want to channel it into something useful. Here are some ways you can join us:
Donate money, resources, or time
If you have the ability, making a donation is one of the simplest ways that you can help with the ongoing bushfire crisis in Australia. Many emergency services take donations that help fund frontline fire fighting. That includes state organisations like New South Wales RFS, Victoria’s CFA and South Australia’s CFS. The Red Cross is currently running an appeal that focuses on communities affected by fires, helping to cover the cost of evacuation centres, disaster preparations, and volunteer training. If you want to make a donation that focuses on wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, WIRES is Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation.
If you’re looking to donate goods rather than make a monetary donation, organisations like Givit are best placed to coordinate them. Another option is to donate your time, for example check out local community Facebook groups to see if you can volunteer at a fundraiser. There’s also organisations like Rescue Craft Co who need help knitting and sewing objects that help in the recovery of animals affected by fires.
Remember First Nations Peoples
This bushfire crisis is taking place on sacred Indigenous lands, where sovereignty was never ceded. We must acknowledge that the ongoing connection of First Nations peoples to the land and culture is critical to life on the land. Many First Nations communities are also in the line of fire and will be affected by this crisis. With that in mind a GoFundMe page for fire relief for First Nations communities has been set up to provide culturally sensitive, specific and direct support to communities affected.
Use your voice
We’re all angry, and we have every right to be. As the Australian government continues to downplay the climate emergency we must get loud and demand action on climate change. Protests are being planned all around Australia to demand action and force governments to listen. We’ll see you there.