Save the Koala Month has come and gone, and thank you all for being involved. I hope those that did celebrate had a fabulous time. Our newsletter will fill you in on some of the great events.

Over that time, I had time to ponder about the plight of the Koala and our role in seeking more and more urgency by our Government to stop trees being destroyed.

There was the announcement of the Great Koala National Park in New South Wales, which is great, but there are more Koalas in that state that still have the same fate – an uncertain future from all manner of developments.

The Koala recovery process is glacial, and the CSIRO project which hopes to counter our Koala figures on Bob’s Map will end next year after a staggering $10m was allocated to the process. They say they are still counting! We have been counting for nearly 40 years and, as I have said on many occasions, we will change our numbers when we have decent science. The line is in the sand. 

I have also been looking at the world and the geopolitics, which are all shocking. It is hard to find the room to get the message of the Koala out there when so much suffering is a reality for humans. It amazes me too that our governments talk about food security (but do nothing to ensure it), talk about love and peace (but do nothing to make it happen), and the endless game of approving projects that may or may not have solutions to our future.

I did not know Jane Goodall very well, but like all of us, I was saddened at her passing and her message, which was released, is really what we all need to hear right now.

It is certainly my intention to carry on – like she did, until the end of her life – because all of us on this planet must listen and act in a new way if we are going to leave a healthy planet for our children. There is a documentary called Earth and, in the final chapter, it showed that our planet is now 40% monoculture trying to grow food for 8 billion people. And in that 40%, by and large, there is no biodiversity. It is scary.

As I mulled over the many complexities – overfishing, overpopulation, weird weather – I just made the pledge to be a better citizen in my own little world.

1. Reduce my plastic use and all the inconvenience that causes.

2. Do not buy any more stuff; and donate some of my stuff to those that need it.

3. Use less energy – wear more clothes in the winter and less in summer.

4. Not waste food.

5. Think of the fish in the ocean; they say the ocean will be empty by 2050 at the current rate   of consumption.

6. Encourage the education of women, who, when educated, have fewer children.

7. Honour our planet in every way, in every single day of our lives.

8. Educate our children and grandchildren that our planet will not be saved by an app.

9. Reduce my screen time, and of course…

10. Find hope and joy in this beautiful world.

 

I truly thank you for your support, and over Save the Koala Month I was on a lot of media, and each and every time I reflected what I often hear from you guys in your emails to me. I am privileged to speak for you for our precious Koala and its environment.

As ever,
Deborah