Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre sew much needed supplies for injured wildlife

Injured wildlife recovering from bushfires in Queensland and New South Wales have received welcome boost of supplies thanks to the women at Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre.

As part of the sewing projects at Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre, prisoners in the centre have sewn and created over 1000 individual items which were donated to the Rescue Craft Collective.

They have crafted a range of items including 850 Koala mittens, 166 fabric pouches, 42 knitted pouches, 22 wraps, 12 baskets, 4 koala hanging poles and 4 mats.

The items have been distributed to wildlife care centres and foster homes across Queensland and New South Wales.

Acting Deputy General Manager Martina Gavin said that giving the women a meaningful project like this helped with their rehabilitation and gave back to the community.

‘We always have projects available to women at the centre, and we thought this was a novel way to help injured animals that are recovering in wildlife centres and foster homes,’ Acting Superintendent Gavin said.

‘All of the materials used for these products were donated or leftovers from other projects that were destined to be thrown away, but we were able to repurpose them and through the hard work of the women, we have been able to support the wonderful work of the Rescue Craft Collective.’

QCS adopts a trauma informed approach to the rehabilitation of women which focuses on the underlying causes of offending behaviour and offers them an opportunity to rehabilitate and escape the cycle that led to crime.