As a result, koalas, kangaroos, and even bats have been displaced, injured and left without their family members. When Aussie rescue group Animal Rescue Craft Guild (ARCG) put out a call for materials to help these poor creatures, donations poured in. People sent in pouches, blankets, mittens, sweaters, and materials for nests for orphans such as kangaroo joeys, bats, and sugar gliders. The guild works across five states in the country and volunteers are given templates and free rein to create as many items as they can. The items are then donated to rescue centers taking the animals in.

Just a year ago, when the group started, it had 1,000 volunteers. But after the tragedy of the bushfires, membership has soared to nearly 170,000. Sarah Rollings, one of the members who manages the group, tells Metro.co.uk that they’re overwhelmed by the support. She said: ‘We are very humbled by the amount of people willing to help us. It’s a level of support we never imagined, back in October when there were 1,200 of us crafting away. ‘Today, we are at over 154,000 people all pledging to pitch in and give us a hand.’

The ARCG is in constant contact with animal carers who have registered with them. As soon as they get requests for an item, the ARCG goes through their inventory and send carers what they need. If the guild doesn’t have what they need, members issue a callout for the specific item and the crafting community gets to work.

At the moment, larger-sized kangaroo hanging day or night bags are needed as well as large size pouches with liners. These are items that take a lot of fabric and are not constantly supplied. Sarah is based in Canberra – the closet fire to her is the Braidwood and Batemans Bay fire zone, approximately 1.5 hours drive from her house.

‘This year’s fire season has come early and caught us, somewhat by surprise,’ she added. ‘But as Aussies do, we rallied together to craft items that are most in need. ‘We were also already helping carers impacted by the severe drought we going through too.’

‘Whilst the bushfire has attracted a lot of attention, it’s a 365-day need. We have carers all over Australia that need our crafted items.’

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