Who can imagine Australia without Koalas?
Hello Koala lovers,
I am going to Quinlan’s tomorrow and I will do what I love best; be in the bush.
Quinlan’s is looking beautiful because we have had good rain and many of the trees and shrubs planted are starting to thrive. In the spring, it was marvellous to see seed on some of the lovely understorey we planted nearly 4 years ago. This will mean that the seeds will now blow in the wind and come up all over the place, just like nature intended.
I am also going to put up the memorial plaques (see the image on the right), which is something I just love to do. I look at the names and think of the people who were loved and missed. In recent times we received an email about Aunty Dorothy; I know that she was obviously so loved, and I will look forward to seeing her name as I wire her plaque onto the special place near the Billabong at Quinlans.
Australians are also starting to wind down now. Mr Darcy and I are looking forward to Christmas, to being on holiday, to summer… and to the heat! I love it, but I did hear today that 2016 was the hottest year on record and that 2017 will follow.
This is so concerning to me and I do find it hard to believe that many still do not believe in climate change. Perhaps when you sit in air conditioning both at home and at the office, the elements do not affect you as much as those of us who spend time in the bush.
Last Wednesday I was filmed at my home by a famous gardening show. It was around 35C for most of the day and we all
had to drink gallons of water as we wandered around looking at the trees I have planted. Some of the trees, which are now 34 years old, were once tiny 4 inch sticks. They are now well over 100 feet high (30 metres) and I marvelled at nature and her ability to grow things as beautiful as a Hoop Pine (see image on the left). But it takes time and immense effort. It is so much easier to not cut down trees in the first place – No Tree No Me.
The show will air in February, so stay tuned for more news about where and when to see it!
Protecting existing trees and forests is the AKF’s main aim and the only way to do that is for our Koala Habitat Atlas to identify which bits of Australia are essential for Koalas and also, of course, to have legislation that will protect the environment.
2017 is the year the Koala Protection Act will take hold; I know it. Our political leaders are starting to see that the environment is important, and even though they allow massive clearing of habitat, I still believe strongly that the AKF will be able to achieve the enactment of this fundamentally important law.
I will not go into international politics. I am a great believer in allowing time to sort some things and the confusion around the world has only made me more determined to “stick to my knitting”, which was my grandmothers way of saying “just do what you do best”. I will be the
Koala Woman for some time to come. There is much to be done:
- Shame our Government into realising that they must protect the Koala
- Enact the Koala Protection Act (KPA)
- Get on with Recovery – which means “don’t cut down trees” and “plant millions more”.
Thank you as always for your support.I took a phone call today from a long term supporter. It was marvellous to hear from her and to hear why she supports the AKF: she loves Australia, Koalas, and our beautiful way of life. These are great reasons!
Regards,
Deborah
