Collaborators

If We Care We Can has been conceived and co-created by Abi Andrews and Renata Phelps. However a whole team of humans have contributed - people who care and are committed to defending our native flora and fauna. We thank them all for their generosity.

Abi Andrews

UK/Australia

Abi illustrated the character of Acacia, and composed the wonderful artworks by our artists into the collages you see through the story.

Abi is from the U.K, and has been living at Araucaria Sanctuary for over a year. In this time she has had the incredible privilege of hand-raising four orphaned gliders, Maple, Aphid, Beau and Arrow, as well as a bat named Triggy and a bandicoot called Pip, along with many pademelons and wallabies. She has learned to use ropes to climb into tall trees, so she can put nest boxes high up where gliders prefer to live in them. She loves to hike in Bungabbee, and has been carrying out ‘citizen science’ in the forest, surveying for threatened species. She is motivated by the power that citizen science has to engage communities and foster kinship with nonhuman neighbours. Back in the U.K Abi is a writer, her debut novel was The Word for Woman is Wilderness, and she is currently working on a second novel, Sister Species.

Renata Phelps

Rock Valley, NSW

Renata wrote the story, in collaboration with Abi. She also developed the website and coordinated communications between the collaborators.

Renata lives at Rock Valley, just a few kilometres from the Eastern side of Bungabbee Forest. She and her partner, Don Metcalfe, were full time volunteer wildlife carers for more than 10 years, caring for hundreds of marsupial animals. She now focuses on caring for the flora and fauna at Araucaria Sanctuary in Northern NSW, Australia. In a 'previous life' Renata worked as an academic and researcher at Southern Cross University in the field of primary, secondary and adult education and research with children and young people, with a particular focus on the role of technology in supporting teaching and learning. Renata hopes this story will inspire others to realise that they CAN make a difference if they are passionate and care about the environment.
(photo by Peter Derrett)

Jenny Dowell

Lismore, NSW

Jenny Dowell OAM who narrated our story is best known as a former Mayor of Lismore City Council. Before she entered politics she was a teacher of deaf children, a lecturer in special education and an advisor on the needs of Aboriginal children with conductive hearing loss. Her special interest has always been language and speech development in young children and she is passionate about words, conversation and reading. The opportunity to narrate this beautiful and important story also appealed to Jenny’s dual commitment to our natural environment. Jenny moved to Lismore in 1991 and although she lives in suburban Goonellabah, wallabies, koalas, echidnas, possums, brush turkeys, wonga pigeons, kookaburras, blue tongue lizards, carpet snakes and many little birds regularly visit her garden.

Now that she’s retired, Jenny is a mentor to NSW Mayors, a member of various regional Boards, a regular volunteer, an avid reader and has taken up acting.
(photo by Peter Derrett)

So many wonderful Artists and Photographers contributed to this story that they need their own page! You can read information about each artist and also visit the Artist Gallery to see each contribution.

We would like to thank our partners, friends and family who have provided feedback, input and supported us while the story was developing. Thank you to Narissa Phelps and Wendy Lawrence for their editorial feedback. Also, Nina Cannell, Nature-based Educator at Alstonville Community Preschool, for inspiring and involving these young people in creating artworks.

Thanks to Dr Dave Sharpe, neighbour and glider researcher, for being a bountiful source of information about these special creatures - and for sharing his audio files of gliders with us.

We are indebted to Katy Stewart, the WIRES Northern Rivers Glider Coordinator, for trusting Renata and Abi with the care of many gliders over the years, and allowing us to realise just how special these creatures are.

To the many members of the community who have joined the Friends of Bungabbee Forest group and have rallied to stop the logging - now and (if needed) in the future - Thank you!

We also can't go past acknowledging the wildlife that have inspired us to write this story - particularly the animals we have cared for over the years - hoping they and their offspring will find a safe home in the wild, and might even make their way across to meet the creatures living at Bungabbee.

jwgecko

A huge thank you to John, Sascha and Khoa from jwgecko for hosting the story website and for all their technical support.

Aurelie Billot

Aurelie from ‘Your Business Web Design’ at Nimbin is passionate about nature, wildlife and her community. She provided assistance with transparencies of images.

Wendy Lawrence

For her mentoring, advice and editorial assistance. Wendy is the author of the award winning book - Boo and the Big Storm.

Conceived and co-created by Abi Andrews and Renata Phelps -- With support from many other wildlife defenders.
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