SAFe “n’ Sound .

20/10/2026

Wildlife Rescue Isn’t Just Something You Do. It’s Something That Becomes Part of Who You Are. 🦘🌿

There comes a point in wildlife rescue when it stops being something you do and becomes something you are.

It’s no longer just about answering a phone call, collecting an injured animal, or spending sleepless nights keeping a tiny life warm and fed.

It becomes a part of you. Woven into your thoughts, your routines, your decisions, and the way you see the world.

You begin to see the environment differently.

A stretch of bushland isn’t just trees and grass anymore. It’s shelter, food, breeding grounds, and generations of wildlife whose survival depends on that little piece of earth remaining untouched.

A kangaroo standing beside the road isn’t just another animal. You wonder whether she’s carrying a joey, whether she’s safe, and whether the next passing vehicle will slow down.

You notice the changing seasons, the flowering trees, the absence of birdsong, the effects of drought, the destruction left behind by floods, and the quiet consequences of human development.

You start to understand just how deeply connected everything is.

And somewhere along the way, their world becomes part of yours.

You carry the animals you’ve saved, but you also carry the ones you couldn’t.

The tiny joey who fought against impossible odds. The animal whose injuries were simply too severe. The ones you held as they took their final breaths, ensuring that even when you couldn’t save them, they didn’t have to leave this world alone.

Those moments change you.

They teach you patience, resilience, compassion, and humility. They teach you that sometimes love means fighting with everything you have, and sometimes it means knowing when to let go.

Wildlife rescue isn’t always beautiful.

It’s exhausting. It’s heartbreaking. It’s expensive. It’s missed family time, interrupted sleep, endless washing, emergency veterinary visits, and the constant responsibility of lives that depend entirely on your knowledge, decisions, and dedication.

But then there are the moments that remind you why.

The first time a tiny joey begins to thrive. The trust of a frightened animal learning that your hands mean safety. The strength returning to a creature that arrived barely holding on.

And perhaps the most beautiful moment of all, watching an animal you have poured your heart into disappear back into the wild, exactly where it belongs.

Because wildlife rescue was never about making them part of our world. It was always about giving them another chance to remain in theirs.

Over the years, I’ve come to realise that my connection to wildlife goes far beyond the animals that come into my care.

It’s a connection to the land they depend on. To the ecosystems that sustain them. To the responsibility we have as humans to protect something that cannot speak for itself.

It’s understanding that rehabilitation means very little if there is no safe habitat left for an animal to return to.

And it’s recognising that conservation isn’t simply about saving individual animals. It’s about protecting the delicate balance that allows entire species to survive.

Wildlife rescue has changed the way I live, the way I think, and the way I see the world.

There are experiences I will never forget, losses I will always carry, and animals that have left permanent footprints on my heart.

I don’t think you ever truly switch off from being a wildlife rescuer.

Even when you’re not actively caring for an animal, you’re watching the roadsides, listening to the trees, noticing the wildlife around you, and quietly hoping they’re safe.

Because once you’ve held a fragile life in your hands and understood just how much its survival matters, you can never look at the natural world quite the same way again.

Wildlife rescue doesn’t just connect you to nature.

It reminds you that you are part of it.

And for me, that connection is something I will carry for the rest of my life.

🌿🦘

For every life saved, every life lost, and every animal that has taught me something along the way.

20/09/2026

17/09/2026

Help Us Build a Forever Home for Wildlife in Gippsland, Victoria

My name is Michelle, and I run SAFe n Sound, a wildlife shelter in Gippsland, Victoria.

Caring for Australian wildlife isn’t a hobby for me. It is something I have dedicated myself to, and something I genuinely love.

I am an authorised wildlife rehabilitator, caring for injured, sick and orphaned native wildlife with the ultimate goal of rehabilitating them and returning them to where they belong — back into the wild.

Everything I do through SAFe n Sound is voluntary.

There is no wage at the end of the week for the hours spent caring for wildlife. Food, equipment, enclosures, fuel and the many other expenses involved in rehabilitation are largely paid from our own pockets.

I also work as a disability support worker. I love my work and helping people achieve greater independence and enjoy their lives. I work to support my family, but I also work so that I can continue supporting the wildlife that comes through my door.

The Problem Isn’t My Willingness — It’s Space

At present, we rent our home.

I already have facilities that allow me to care for wildlife including birds and possums, but there is only so much that can be done on a rental property.

I cannot simply construct the large permanent flight aviaries, rehabilitation enclosures and other specialised facilities that I dream of creating.

I have undertaken training and continue developing my wildlife rehabilitation knowledge because I want to be capable of helping more Australian wildlife.

But without suitable land, there is a limit to what SAFe n Sound can become.

And that is why I am asking for help.

The Dream — Approximately Five Acres in Gippsland

My dream is to purchase approximately five acres of suitable land in Gippsland and create a permanent home for SAFe n Sound.

Not a zoo.

Not somewhere wildlife is kept permanently for people’s entertainment.

A genuine wildlife rehabilitation sanctuary where injured and orphaned native animals can receive the care, space and rehabilitation they need before being returned to the wild whenever possible.

With our own property, my vision is to progressively establish appropriate facilities such as:

• Large flight aviaries where birds can rebuild their strength and flight fitness before release
• Purpose-built wildlife rehabilitation enclosures
• Possum rehabilitation facilities
• Quarantine and isolation areas to protect animals from disease
• Safe areas for food preparation, equipment and supplies
• Appropriate rehabilitation and pre-release areas
• Space to expand the shelter responsibly in the future, in accordance with wildlife regulations, authorisations and animal welfare requirements

Most importantly, owning the property would mean the work put into these facilities would have a permanent home.

Why Five Acres?

I don’t want an enormous property.

I want enough land to create a carefully planned wildlife rehabilitation environment while maintaining appropriate separation between animals and providing the space required for proper rehabilitation.

Approximately five acres would give SAFe n Sound room to grow without losing sight of what this shelter is about:

Rescue. Rehabilitate. Release.

Where Donations Will Go

Our long-term fundraising goal is to help SAFe n Sound secure suitable land in Gippsland and progressively establish the rehabilitation facilities needed on that property.

This is a big dream, and I know it won’t happen overnight.

That is okay.

Every donation, every business that supports us, every donated building material, every person who shares our story and every organisation that points us towards an opportunity takes us one step closer.

I am not asking people to fund a lifestyle or simply buy me a home.

I am asking for help creating a permanent place where I can dedicate more of my life to rehabilitating Australian wildlife.

You Don’t Have to Donate to Help

I understand that many people are struggling financially themselves.

If you cannot donate, you can still make an enormous difference.

Please share our story.

Perhaps you know someone with land.

Perhaps you know a business willing to donate materials or services.

Perhaps you know a fencing company, builder, earthmoving business, rural supplier or other local company willing to support wildlife rehabilitation.

Perhaps you know of a grant or philanthropic organisation that could help.

Or perhaps sharing this reaches the one person we need it to reach.

To Gippsland Businesses

I would love to hear from businesses interested in becoming supporters of the future SAFe n Sound Wildlife Rehabilitation Sanctuary.

As the project progresses, we will need many things — fencing, aviary materials, timber, mesh, building materials, earthworks, equipment and professional services.

Support does not always have to mean money.

Materials, labour, expertise and services can all help turn this dream into reality.

My Promise

If we manage to make this happen, I will never forget the community that helped build it.

SAFe n Sound will continue to be about the animals.

About giving injured and orphaned wildlife another chance.

About rehabilitation.

About release.

And about ensuring that when the next animal needs somewhere safe to recover, there is somewhere ready to take them.

This is my dream.

Five acres. A permanent wildlife rehabilitation shelter. And the ability to help so many more Australian animals get back where they belong — into the wild.

Thank you for reading our story.

Thank you for supporting wildlife carers.

And thank you for helping make SAFe n Sound possible.

SAFe n Sound Wildlife Rehabilitation
Gippsland, Victoria

Rescue • Rehabilitate • Release

15/09/2026

These would be great for our joeys that need to be on us if anyone would like to donate

Shop unique animal graphic apparel at BambooThread. Featuring wildlife, cute pet & wild animal prints on tees, hoodies and casual wear. Soft comfy fabrics & creative exclusive designs.

15/09/2026

A total stranger sent these sobering words to Koala Crisis.

'The world should be focusing more on what is happening to Australia's wildlife. It's every bit as bad as the Amazon. An entire continent suffering one of the worst ecological disasters of our age.'

Let those words sink in. For the millions of you who care, who fight against Olympic odds for the protection of koalas, kangaroos, greater gliders, all our precious unique wildlife, who campaign, protest, lobby, rescue and treat sick, injured, wounded, starving dehydrated wildlife, who spend sleepless nights with traumatised animals, who weep over the suffering and rage at our impotence, this is reality.

Australia, this ancient land is in the depths of darkness. Governments, bureaucrats, political leaders, political parties, mainstream media will not name the God-awful nightmare that’s happening in this country.

In the 21st century, the governments of Australia are allowing helicopters with gun men to slaughter koalas, kangaroos and wild horses. The cruelty involved is horrific.

The politicians who allow these terrible acts, who approve the slaughters of millions of kangaroos, who turn their backs on the sick, stressed, sad koalas, who turn nature into a trading post so the destroyers can benefit from the destruction, are the people Australians vote for.

Imagine this country with 50 million people,cities from one end of the east coast to the top end, forests gone, wildlife so rare it creates headlines in the Murdoch dominated mainstream media when seen, endless government propaganda with false and misleading population estimates, zoos and a few sanctuaries the only places to see the odd genetically engineered koala, a kangaroo or two, maybe a wombat or ..

Welcome to Australia, the concrete jungle with extreme water shortages, appalling climatic conditions, droughts, floods,intense bushfires, heat… no place to walk through the forests listening to the birds speak, feeling the peaceful space, listening to the trees..

Remembering how exciting it was to see a koala or any forest creatures.

We are in a war being waged against Nature. It’s vitally important we wake up the public, raise the awareness of the suffering wildlife, express the depth of your disgust to your local MPs, senators.

Koala Crisis is working up a legal guide for communities attempting to protect koala habitat as well as the habitat of other endangered critters. We will soon make this available as one of the biggest problems in any effort to stop habitat destruction is the lack of knowledge of how an increasingly complex, difficult to understand legal system works. And what you can do !

We are NOT powerless. If humanity is to survive, so must nature.

We are all connected. The trauma and sickness our wildlife is experiencing will be our karma.

15/08/2026

This month we are trying to raise money for a wildlife trail cam . After a wombat had been hit by a car her pouch showed that she had a Joey inside with an elongated teat and stretched pouch , however we could not find the Joey . With a few burrows around myself and another carer set up for the night hoping we could find the Joey coming back to mum , . It would have been alot easier if we were able to set up a trail cam over night to see any action .
So I’m asking anyone if they can spare any money and donate to our SAFe and sound go fund me page and hopefully we can purchase this wildlife trail cam .

07/08/2026

Last night I was contacted by a wonderful member of the public who had found a wallaby that had been hit by a car, with a joey still at her foot. Together, we spent hours searching the area, hoping to find the little one. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a more caring and compassionate person to work alongside. Sadly, despite my final search just half an hour ago, we have still had no luck.

I also knocked on nearby doors and left my contact details with residents, asking them to please call me if they happened to spot the joey. Every extra set of eyes gives these animals a better chance.

One of those conversations, however, took an unexpected turn. After seeing my high-vis vest with “Wildlife Victoria” on it, one gentleman became very upset and asked, “What are you going to do about this bird flu? What about my chooks?”

I completely understand that people are worried. Avian influenza is a concerning topic, and it’s natural to have questions. I calmly explained that many wildlife volunteers have been working hard to educate ourselves by undertaking training and learning as much as we can about H5N1. We are also working alongside DEECA by reporting what we see and following the procedures they have put in place.

When he replied, “Why should I have to Google it? That’s what you guys are here for,” I gently explained that our role as wildlife volunteers is to rescue, rehabilitate and release our native wildlife. While we are committed to helping where we can, DEECA is the lead authority managing avian influenza, and they have well-established plans and resources available to the public.

The media can sometimes focus on the most alarming aspects of a story, which can understandably increase fear and anxiety. If you are concerned, I encourage you to seek information from trusted sources such as DEECA or reach out with genuine questions. If I know the answer, I am always happy to help, and if I don’t, I’ll gladly point you in the right direction.

Above all, please remember that wildlife rescuers are volunteers. We give our time because we care deeply about our native wildlife. We experience the same emotions, worries and heartbreak that everyone else does—often while responding to injured and orphaned animals—but we continue because these animals need us.

Please be kind. A little understanding goes a long way. Last night I was contacted by a wonderful member of the public who had found a wallaby that had been hit by a car, with a joey still at her foot. Together, we spent hours searching the area, hoping to find the little one. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a more caring and compassionate person to work alongside. Sadly, despite my final search just half an hour ago, we have still had no luck.

I also knocked on nearby doors and left my contact details with residents, asking them to please call me if they happened to spot the joey. Every extra set of eyes gives these animals a better chance.

One of those conversations, however, took an unexpected turn. After seeing my high-vis vest with “Wildlife Victoria” on it, one gentleman became very upset and asked, “What are you going to do about this bird flu? What about my chooks?”

I completely understand that people are worried. Avian influenza is a concerning topic, and it’s natural to have questions. I calmly explained that many wildlife volunteers have been working hard to educate ourselves by undertaking training and learning as much as we can about H5N1. We are also working alongside DEECA by reporting what we see and following the procedures they have put in place.

When he replied, “Why should I have to Google it? That’s what you guys are here for,” I gently explained that our role as wildlife volunteers is to rescue, rehabilitate and release our native wildlife. While we are committed to helping where we can, DEECA is the lead authority managing avian influenza, and they have well-established plans and resources available to the public.

The media can sometimes focus on the most alarming aspects of a story, which can understandably increase fear and anxiety. If you are concerned, I encourage you to seek information from trusted sources such as DEECA or reach out with genuine questions. If I know the answer, I am always happy to help, and if I don’t, I’ll gladly point you in the right direction.

Above all, please remember that wildlife rescuers are volunteers. We give our time because we care deeply about our native wildlife. We experience the same emotions, worries and heartbreak that everyone else does—often while responding to injured and orphaned animals—but we continue because these animals need us.

Please be kind. A little understanding goes a long way.
🦘 🦘

30/07/2026

26/07/2026

20/07/2026

💔 This is one of the hardest posts we've ever had to write... 💔

For years, we've dedicated our lives to rescuing, raising and rehabilitating orphaned and injured native wildlife.

But there is one piece of the puzzle that we simply cannot provide...

A forever place for them to come home to.

Many people kindly say, "You can release them on our property." While we are so incredibly grateful for those generous offers, unfortunately that isn't what these animals need.

We're not looking for somewhere to release wildlife. We're looking for somewhere they can always come home to.

We don't believe in hard releases, and we never will.

Our wombats,Wallabies Kqngaroos echidnas don't simply get dropped off and left to fend for themselves. They are slowly transitioned back into the wild through a carefully managed soft release. They need to know where home is. They need somewhere safe to return if they're struggling. They need to be monitored, checked regularly, and if something goes wrong, we need to be able to find them quickly and provide veterinary care.

Rescuing wildlife is only half the journey. Giving them a safe place to become wild again is the other half.

That can only happen on land owned by SAFe n Sound

Without our own permanent wildlife sanctuary, we cannot complete the final and most important stage of rehabilitation.

Every animal we rescue deserves more than just surviving... they deserve the very best chance at truly living free.

We've reached the point where we have to be honest.

If we cannot secure our own property, we will eventually have to make the heartbreaking decision about whether we can continue rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned wildlife at all.

Not because we don't want to.

But because we have a responsibility to finish the cycle of care. We refuse to compromise on that.

Today, we're asking for something extraordinary.

If you know of suitable land that could be donated, if you are in a position to help us purchase land, or if you're someone planning your estate and have no family to leave your property to, please consider leaving a lasting legacy for Australia's wildlife.

This isn't about giving us land.

It's about creating a permanent sanctuary where orphaned native wildlife can grow, heal, learn to be wild again, and always have somewhere safe to return if they need us.

Imagine a place where every joey we save has the opportunity to grow up knowing the bush is their home, while still having a safe sanctuary to return to if they need us. A place that will continue saving Australian wildlife for generations to come.

Long after we're gone, that land will still be giving injured and orphaned wildlife a second chance.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for believing in our mission and standing beside us every step of the way.

Together, we can ensure every animal we rescue has the chance to complete the journey back to where they truly belong. ❤️🦡🦘🦜