STRIKING stone koalas have been made to help raise funds for wildlife affected by the devastating Australian bushfires.
A total of 30 koalas have been crafted by Granite & Quartz Fabricators Ruby Granite, located in Mochdre.
By donating £50 through JustGiving, individuals can secure a personalised a 80cm x 55cm stone koala bear.
The company have set themselves a target of £1,500. All money raised will be donated to WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation.
Ross Salter, managing director at Ruby Granite, said “The news of the devastating fires across Australia inspired us to raise money any way we can.
“The work that WIRE Wildlife Rescue are doing is vital to the survival of so many species affected.
“We created the stone Koalas as a way of showing we stand with Australia in these horrific times.”
The stone koalas can be personalised
Chloe Woodcock, marketing manager at Ruby Granite, said: “Ross and the team came up with the idea and everyone thought it was really different. We are all huge animal lovers.
“We are so far away from Australia and we wanted to help.
“The Koalas have been pre-made and took two / three hours to laser cut.
“People can donate and if they donate £50, they can have their stone koala personalised and have that to take home. We ask for a minimum of £50 and 100 per cent of donations will go to the wildlife rescue centre.
"The centre is currently working to save animals across the four-million hectares of destroyed land.
“We have a target of £1,500 but would like to raise as much as possible.”
The fires have been burning since September and have killed 27 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and led to the evacuations of thousands of people.
It will be months before the impact of wild populations in Australia can be better understood but ecologists at Sydney University have estimated more than 800 million animals have been affected in New South Wales and more than one billion animals in Australia.
To donate and for further details about how the personalisation works, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ruby-koalas
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