For over 20 years now, the Penguin Foundation has been receiving tiny knitted jumpers for penguins.
Thanks to the Knits for Nature program at Phillip Island, volunteers from all over have been busy knitting tiny jumpers for little penguins. If a penguin gets covered in oil, it will try to clean itself, which can make it sick. These special jumpers stop them from swallowing oil while they recover.
These days, the wildlife clinic has plenty of emergency jumpers ready for the 40,000 or so little penguins living on Phillip Island. But knitters haven’t put down their needles; the project has just changed a bit.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Penguin Foundation has operated its Knits for Nature program for more than 20 years.
- Specially fitted jumpers are used during oil spill rehabilitation to prevent little penguins from ingesting oil while preening.
- The Foundation is currently seeking themed jumpers for plush penguin toys sold in retail stores to raise vital conservation funds.
- Around 40,000 little penguins live on Phillip Island (Millowl) within Phillip Island Nature Parks.
- Acrylic yarn is suitable for plush toy jumpers, but buttons or small embellishments that pose a choking risk cannot be accepted.
- Funds raised support wildlife rehabilitation, research, and year-round predator-detection programs targeting foxes and feral cats.
- Those who do not knit can contribute through one-off or monthly donations.
10,000 plush penguins need jumpers
Now, the Foundation is asking knitters to get creative and make themed jumpers for plush toy penguins available in stores. There are all sorts of designs – Christmas colours, country flags, football stripes, even bow ties.
These fun jumpers help raise money for penguin care, research, and conservation. Since these are just for toys, acrylic yarn is fine, and you can really let your creativity shine. Just skip the buttons or anything small that could be a choking hazard.
Every plush penguin sold goes toward programs that protect native wildlife from threats like foxes and feral cats. There are even conservation dogs on patrol year-round, sniffing out predators before they reach vulnerable animals.
Download the penguin jumper pattern.
Other ways you can help protect Phillip Island’s wildlife
Not into knitting? You can still help out.
Donations, whether it’s a one-time gift or something you do every month, go straight to supporting rehab, research, and predator detection.
Every contribution helps keep Phillip Island’s little penguins safe for generations to come.
For more information, visit the Penguin Foundation.
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