Taking an important mental health message under their wing in October, Milsons Point and Cammeray customers lovingly made fabric birds for the Lost Bird Found project, an initiative by North Sydney Council to coincide with Mental Health Month.

The little birds symbolise freedom from mental illness and were hidden in public spaces around North Sydney, each with a sticker on them that directed the finder to the project’s Facebook page and Pinterest board. There, people could upload pictures of their finds and read more about mental-health support services and community activities.

SGCH supplied materials for the birds to be made to council’s guidelines and about 10 little birds were completed. For some customers the creativity involved in producing the birds was the best part of the process, while others delighted in finding spots they could be tucked away.

“We had one lovely customer who wanted to hide her bird in a raised garden bed on the street,” says Marie Tumbur, Community Engagement Coordinator, “and when I asked her why, she explained that the bird would then be at eye level for a young child. I loved that she was thinking about it that way.”