4 minute read
Person of refined taste
Mat and Amy Daly finishing a bike ride from Sydney to Newry in 2014. Money raised during the bike ride provided support for bereaved families though the Little Jem Foundation.
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Photo: Contributed Our little gems
ON October 15, many local families will commemorate International Pregnancy and Baby Loss Awareness Day. Amy Daly, from the Little Jem Foundation, said the day helped break through silence of loss. “One of the challenges for families who experience loss is the sense of isolation because no-one really wants to talk about it,” Mrs Daly said. “Awareness days like this one let families know their babies are remembered and there are other mothers, fathers, siblings and families who understand.” The Little Jem Foundation is a Gippsland-based, not-for-profit organisation that offers support to families after the loss of a baby or child. This loss could be during pregnancy, as a newborn or as a young child. Each year, the Little Jem Foundation helps dozens of families who have experienced loss. “We help people access bereavement counselling, or support groups either in person, or by telephone and can also provide financial support for funerals and other services,” Mrs Daly said. The foundation was set up my Mat and Amy Daly in honour of their baby, Jemma Sue. Jemma was born at 27 weeks and lived for eight days. “The loss of a baby or child is much more common than people think, but again, because people don’t like to talk about it, most people are surprised by the numbers,” Mrs Daly said. “On average, six babies are stillborn every day in Australia. That is a lot of mums and dads and families.” Every year, about 110,000 Australians have a miscarriage and 600 lose their baby in the first 28 days after birth. “But really it doesn’t matter when you lose you child, it is still devastating,” Mrs Daly said. “We would encourage any families out there who have experienced a loss to reach out and get support “Sometimes just knowing another mum or dad who has had a similar experience helps.” For more information about the Little Jem Foundation, phone Amy on 0428 506 731.
Photo: Contributed
Australian White Ibis
THE Australian White Ibis was once known as the Sacred Ibis, but sadly most of us now refer to them as a bin chicken, tip turkey or dumpster diver. So how did this native bird species come to be so misunderstood? Highly adaptive and mobile, they began moving to coastal urban areas when large areas of inland wetlands, their natural habitat, were lost through changed waterflows and urbanisation. Due to the habitat decline and increasing population, many have begun supplementing their diets from landfill sites, bins and litter in our cities and towns. But at other times they’re called the ‘farmer’s friend’ as they like foraging for grasshoppers and snails in lawns and paddocks, pests that cause crop damage to farmers - and they also have a habit of flocking into areas afflicted by plagues of locusts and gorging themselves on them. The ibis is easily identified by its almostentirely white body plumage with featherless black head and neck and a long down-curved black bill. Usually feeding in groups, they also eat invertebrates, frogs, fish, crustaceans and human scraps. Mussels are one of their favoured foods and they dig for them using their long bill, then open by hammering them on a hard surface to reveal the soft body inside. They nest together in tightly-packed ‘colonies’ with nests sometimes numbering in the thousands. To attract a female, the male secures a pairing territory on the branch of a tall tree. Courtship involves him putting on a noisy display, as well as showing aggression towards other males. When a female arrives, he attracts her by bowing from his branch. He offers a twig and when she grasps it they begin to preen one another. Once the bond is cemented, they fly off to build a nest at another location. Young are born naked and helpless and one or two broods may be reared in a year. Ibis rely upon the health of Macleod Morass for their breeding season, where this year they have been breeding in huge numbers, along with the Straw-Necked Ibis. BirdLife East Gippsland meet weekly for Monday morning outings. New members are always welcome. Check the Facebook group for more information.
The Little Jem Foundation joins with families to remember their babies and children gone too soon this Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. "There is no footprint so small that it doesn 't leave an imprint on this world" The Little Jem Foundation provides help to families in Gippsland who experience the loss of a baby or child, whether during pregnancy, as newborns or as young children.
Do you or someone you know need support?
To donate to the Little Jem Foundation or if you or someone you know could use some support, contact Amy 0428 506 731. Please donate to: BSB 633 000 Account 149 500480 Follow us on Facebook
