Dear Koala Pete,
Today I have some good news for you. As you can see from the picture I took above, some of the burned trees are beginning to sprout with our eucalyptus leaves. All of us are so happy to see this.
Yesterday I met a new neighbor, Ming. He had been at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park recovering from burns on his paws and singed fur.
Ming told me that there is talk of rebuilding efforts underway to restore our bushland now that the fires have calmed down. You know, word in the neighborhood is that about 520,000 acres of land–including our eucalyptus trees–have been destroyed.
Apparently they will plant 50,000 trees for us in six different places. Ming says that we’ve lost 90% of the island’s koalas out here. That’s a lot of them. How fortunate we are to have escaped the fires!
Ming was able to sit in on a discussion with Matt Kean, Environment Minister. He was talking about what the Australian government intends to do for us koalas. Mr. Kean told everyone at the meeting
These projects also acknowledge the passion of our regional communities and local organizations, who spend their time and money caring for their local koala populations and getting involved in tree planting, weed control and site preparation activities.
These grants are part of the $1 million investment to deliver local actions in partnership with the community under the NSW Koala Strategy.
After the meeting, Ming heard that $44.7 million is earmarked for us koalas. That is the most money by any State government. They want to stabilize and increase our populations across New South Wales.
So glad to report some good news to you dear Koala Pete.
Have a good week and write to you soon.
Love you forever,
Grandma Ko