Koalas in Care is full to the brim. Not just with koalas but with donations from far and wide.
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There is no room to move as you walk into the gate of the Taree residence of Paul and Christeen McLeod, which is also the headquarters of Koalas in Care.
There are boxes and goods piled high along the side of the house, and we are told this is only a fraction of the donations they have had to accommodate.
Throughout the bushfire crisis Koalas in Care has been putting the call out for specific needs, and the public has been extremely generous in it's giving, to the point Koalas in Care now have more than they need.
"We asked for some things but the response has been overwhelming and people are very very generous. But we do need to stop them now," Christeen laughs.
"We've got a great supply and people have just been fantastic providing for the koalas."
For those still wanting to help, the best way is via donating cash to the organisation via their website www.koalasincare.org.au. Donations will allow them to meet specific needs, and to plan for the future.
"We'll think of something after the fires that will help the local koalas recover. That's what we'll be working towards," Christeen said.
Our joey releasing area, it's gone.
- Christeen McLeod, Koalas in Care
Not least amongst the needs going forward is food, and creating habitat for the region's koalas, as so much habitat has been lost in the fires.
"Our joey releasing area, it's gone," Christeen says.
"We're just going to have to rethink everything, the way we used to work, to the way we're going to have to work in the future. It's going to be a whole new ballgame.
"We've got to be able to get trees back in the ground. It's going to be a mammoth job, but down the track we've got to try and get some habitat back into the area.
"Hopefully some of the trees will regenerate and provide them with food."
Residents in Tinonee are excitedly reporting more koalas than usual in their village, already a known koala habitat. Christeen says it is because they are coming out of the surrounding burnt areas in search of food.
A tree farm grown specifically for koala food on the outskirts of Tinonee was nearly lost as fire hit Jane Hosking's property, where the tree farm stands. Thankfully the majority of trees in the farm were saved, as was Jane's house.
Too much to handle
At the time of interviewing, Koalas in Care was housing more than 30 koalas - 23 of them with bushfire related injuries. They've come from Crowdy Bay, Tinonee/Hillville, Wherrol Flat, Possum Brush, Tallwoods, and Rainbow Flat.
"A vast area," Christeen says.
With a small facility and a small crew, they are stretched to capacity. Long hours, little sleep, no time to prepare meals and food grabbed whenever time allows means exhaustion for them all. They are also emotionally spent.
Some of the more badly burnt patients have been relocated to other koala organisations - Port Stephens Koalas and the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital - "because it's just getting too much for us," Christeen says.
It also frees up space for more koalas to come. Christeen expects they will continue to see more in the coming weeks.
"We just don't know the amount that we're going to get in that we'll need to deal with," Christeen says.
Christeen asks that people report all koala sightings, preferably by way of texting a photo to the organisation's mobile phone, as some animals may not look injured but may still be in need of assistance.
"That way we can look at the picture and determine whether the koala needs our help or not," she says.
We just don't know the amount that we're going to get in that we'll need to deal with.
- Christeen McLeod, Koalas in Care
"People are well meaning but we really need to be able to see these animals so we can be 100 per cent sure that they're not burnt, and there are ways for us to be determining that.
"We're getting to (messages) as quickly as we can. Our phones have been running hot and we're only a small team but we're trying to handle it the best way we can, but these little guys have got to be the priority as they are coming in."
To report a koala call Koalas in Care 24 hours on 6552 2183 or 0439 406 770. To donate visit their website www.koalasincare.org.au.