Remember the Fires Near Me app? Meet Help Wildlife Near Me
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It’s a familiar app looking to make a huge difference for our furry friends. Meet Help Wildlife Near Me.
We would do anything for our animal friends, whether it’s that sneaky second meal or letting them up onto the bed when your partner is away (we won’t tell if you don’t)—and now there’s a new “first of its kind” app for you to help them out!
Remember the Fires Near Me app (arguably an essential for any Canberran late 2019-2020)? In fact, I’d bet it’s still sitting on your phone! Well, a similar app has been released with the intention of informing the community on how to properly care for wildlife in danger.
Funded by the Landcare Led Bushfire Recovery Grants program and supported by the Australian Government’s Bushfire Recover Program for Wildlife and their Habitat, Baha Agency (a local Canberran technology agency) was commissioned to create an app that served as an information-sharing system – cool right?
The result? Help Wildlife Near Me.
But what exactly does it do?
Unfortunately, Canberra isn’t a stranger to natural disasters. From the Black Summer Bushfires in 2020 to the recent flooding crisis in the surrounding regions, we’ve seen it all. During and after Black Summer it became evident that there was a lack of information regarding how to care for animals who had been caught in the fires. While many people tried to help the affected wildlife after the fire tore through the Blue Mountains, sadly, many actions – such as giving koalas water from water bottles – proved more detrimental than helpful.
As Executive Director and CEO of Science for Wildlife, Dr Kellie Leigh says, “There was a real lack of information going out to communities. A lot of people were forced to get information off the internet which was often misinformation.”
Similar to the Fires Near Me App, a map function on Help Wildlife Near Me will make it easier to share location data for volunteer projects, priority areas and project locations —meaning no more wasted time scouring the internet for locations! This system will create an easy communication platform to coordinate habitat restorations as well as threat mitigations.
Registering to participate in conservation voluntary opportunities will also be easier than ever for locals interested, with stakeholder groups able to see all projects in the region.
There will be no need to drive yourself crazy searching for relevant information as users will receive regular updates – including guidelines for safe and effective wildlife emergency response actions as well as how to conserve species and habitats after fires or other natural disasters.
They’ve truly thought of everything.
“This app will save countless animal lives and improve community and environmental resilience after disasters such as the Black Summer bushfires,” says Landcare New South Wales CEO Turlough Guerin
Help Wildlife Near Me has (at the time of this article publication), only launched in the Blue Mountains. However, they have their sights set on securing more funding to roll the app out nationwide. So, those not Canberra-centric and surrounds, should keep an eye on their website for updates!
What are you waiting for? Start downloading!
For more information visit their website helpwildlifenearme.com.au.
