Smooch & Rose (7 page)

13. The Mayor

Gran ironed a crisp clean shirt for me to wear on Friday. When I was dressed, she clipped a little furry koala to my collar. ‘From Smooch and me,' she said, smiling. ‘For good luck.' Then she cooked an extra-big portion of scrambled eggs to get me off to a good start. My stomach was jumping around so much I could hardly face eating them. But I ate them anyway, just to see the satisfied look on Gran's face.

And then it was time.

Uncle Malcolm pulled up just after eight. He'd taken the day off work especially. And he'd dressed in a smart grey suit with a bright red tie.

Gran sat with me in the back of Uncle Malcolm's car and held my hand while I practised my presentation over and over in my head. It didn't take long to get to the council chambers. I wished Uncle Malcolm would make another trip around the block. Only I still wouldn't have been ready. I'd never be ready.

I thought I might be sick as we climbed the steps to the front entrance. I gripped Gran's hand so hard I probably cut off the blood flow.

People were standing all around, waving banners that said things like,
Stop the Destruction
and
Save Our Koalas
. Some of the people were even chanting, like the protests I'd seen on TV. A group of school kids held a sign that said,
No Trees, No Me
. The writing was so neat it looked like one of the fonts in Microsoft Word.

‘Mrs Glover?' I whispered. The sign lowered. Mrs Glover's beaming face appeared behind it. Shuffling around her to get a better look were the grinning faces of my whole entire class. Even Tahlia and Kellee were there. ‘Good luck!' they chorused as we passed.

I spotted Carol by the doors, talking to a couple of reporters. I hoped her friends were still guarding Smooch's trees. She turned to give me a wink and I was sure they were keeping Smooch safe.

And then we went in. Everyone smiled at me and I concentrated on smiling back without throwing up. The swirly pattern on the carpet didn't help. I managed to get to where Mayor Bantex was standing without my legs collapsing, but my throat was dry and my hand was cold and clammy when he shook it.

‘Welcome Rose,' he said in a friendly voice. ‘I've been looking forward to meeting you.'

‘Thank you,' I peeped. I pulled my USB out of my pocket and gave it to him with a trembling hand. He passed it over to his assistant and introduced me to the other councillors and to Bill Young from Hall and Young Development. I told him we'd already met – kind of. Then Mayor Bantex said, ‘Over to you, Rose.'

I took a deep breath. I glanced at Gran. She smiled and nodded. I looked at Uncle Malcolm and then over to Carol by the door. She gave me the thumbs up and I began.

‘Good morning Mayor Bantex, Mr Young, councillors, ladies and gentlemen, and distinguished guests. Thank you for having me here this morning.'

It came out exactly like I'd practised. No squeaks, no mistakes. I was doing it! I was speaking in public. I clicked on the first slide. It was a photograph of Smooch and I explained how we'd rescued him. My stomach stopped churning and I clicked on the next slide. It showed a picture of a cleared block of land – not a tree in sight. No-one laughed. No-one told me to stop. Mayor Bantex and Mr Young and every councillor sat glued to my PowerPoint presentation.

At the end, they all clapped. Even Mayor Bantex! Especially Mayor Bantex. Then they asked me lots of questions and when I'd finished answering those, everyone went out onto the verandah for cake, lemonade and cups of tea. I couldn't stop smiling.

When it was time to leave, Mayor Bantex's assistant escorted us outside and the crowd around the entrance cheered. Mrs Glover stepped forward as I passed the
No Tree, No Me
banner. ‘Congratu­lations, Rose,' she said before pausing and tapping a finger thoughtfully to her chin. ‘I think you've well and truly earned yourself an ‘A', don't you? Well done, young lady!'

‘What now?' said Gran, when we were back home and sitting around the kitchen table.

‘Now we have to wait,' I explained. ‘The councillors and developers have to discuss my ideas and see what they can do. Mayor Bantex said there is no guarantee anything will change.'

‘I'm so proud of you, Rosie,' said Gran. ‘You're a chip off the old block. Your dad would have been proud of you too.'

‘Yes, he would've been thrilled to see you fighting for his beloved creek,' said Uncle Malcolm. ‘Quite the animal-lover your dad. Looks like you've got the animal gene too.'

14. Change

Waiting to hear back about the development took forever. I practically wore out the path to our letter­box I checked it that much. Gran said a watched mailbox was like a watched kettle. She gave me extra chores to keep me away from it, but that didn't really help.

Finally, the letter we'd been waiting for arrived. Gran called Uncle Malcolm and he came over as soon as he could. Gran bustled around making tea while I offered Uncle Malcolm some scones.

Then Gran gave the big white envelope to me. I ripped it open and peered nervously inside.

‘Come on, Rosie. What does it say?'

With shaking hands, I pulled out a crisp A4 letter and a booklet titled,
Proposed Changes to the Development of Lot 3425, Wellington Point
.

I read the letter out loud.

Dear Rose,

Thank you so much for showing us that koalas are not the only ones who love beautiful trees. Here at Hall and Young Development, we can all remember climbing a few in our day. You have reminded us how precious places like Wellington Point are and have shown us that we need to protect the things we love.

We hope you will approve of the proposals outlined in the enclosed document, and if you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to call me anytime on my direct line.

Yours sincerely,

Mr William Young

I frowned. ‘That's good, isn't it?'

‘Yes,' laughed Uncle Malcolm. ‘It's great.' He picked up the booklet and flicked it open. ‘See. Here are all the things they're suggesting. Just like you asked.' He pointed to the long list of dot points as Gran and I huddled excitedly around him.

‘Fewer houses. Wide gaps left for koala trees. Koala-friendly fences with poles to help koalas and other wildlife get around. Look, there's even a clause that says hollow logs must be left in place for creatures to hide in. This is perfect, Rose, exactly what you wanted!'

The proposals also said that koalas at risk were not to be relocated, but were to be encouraged to stay by planting appropriate trees. Smooch's favourite tree would stay, with the new driveway being built well away from it, not through it, as originally planned.

Gran looked at me with a satisfied smile. ‘Congratulations, Rosie, you did it!' she said. ‘Now every­one wins. The developers, the koalas, and people who love animals like you and me. Well done!'

We had some more tea and another round of scones. That's when Uncle Malcolm told us he had some more good news. Brilliant news, in fact. Gran and I leant forward in our seats.

‘Do you remember the developers had a hiccup? A problem delaying development around the house?'

Gran and I nodded.

‘Well, they were having trouble getting approval to remove the house. Mayor Bantex decided to take it a step further. It turns out this house is so old it's of historic importance to the area. He suggested I apply for it to be “heritage-listed”.'

Gran nearly spilled her tea. ‘“Heritage-listed”?'

‘It means this house was one of the first built in the area. Something like 1870, I think. The first farmers in the region lived around here. A house as old as this is so historically important that it can't be knocked down. So it looks like you can stay!'

‘Wahoo!' I yelled. I bounced up and hugged Uncle Malcolm around the neck. He started a little but I was too busy saying thank you over and over again to care. When I finally let go, Uncle Malcolm coughed awkwardly and straightened his tie.

‘But how will that work?' said Gran, still looking unsure. ‘Will I have to rent the house from these history people?'

‘No, no, not at all. We're adjusting the paperwork so that the developers will still build on the farm, but you will own the house. You won't be able to knock down any walls or change the outside of the house too much, but you will be able to keep the small yards for the animals and—'

‘So Mickey and Sally and the chooks can stay?' I chirped happily.

‘Yes, yes, the animals can stay.' He paused and looked over at Gran. ‘So, what do you say?'

There was only one thing to say. Yes, yes, YES! I ran down to tell Smooch as soon as Uncle Malcolm had gone.

‘Smooch!' I cried, gazing up into his tallowwood tree. ‘We did it! We really did it!'

Smooch was curled up fast asleep and didn't move.

‘Now, you'll have to get used to sharing this place. It'll still be your backyard and everything, but it won't be quite the same. There'll be more houses, and more dogs, and loads more cars. You're going to have to be careful.'

I sighed and leant my back against the rough bark of the tree. Who would believe it? Little old me, standing up to all those people.

I closed my eyes.

It was true what Gran always said. You don't have to be big to be special. The breeze in the treetops agreed.

What should you do if you find an injured koala?

When Rose and Gran found Smooch's mother, and then Smooch, it was quite a scary situation. Not only were they confronted with a pack of blood-hungry dogs, but there was also an injured koala's life hanging in the balance. If you ever find an injured koala, it's important that you know what to do. Here are some steps that you can follow:

• First, check for danger. Will you be safe if you help out? If you're alone or with friends, call an adult or a teacher to assist you.

• Keep other animals away and don't try to pick up or touch the koala (unless advised otherwise by the koala rescuers). It's also really important to keep calm and quiet because koalas stress very easily.

• Next, make sure the koala needs rescuing (maybe it's actually okay). You could do this by watching the koala for a minute to see if it's just resting or trying to find its way.

• If the koala is in trouble and on the ground, place a washing basket or something similar on top of it to keep it safe. Stay nearby until rescuers come.

• Don't try to feed the koala, but providing a bowl of water may be a good idea – ask the rescuers for advice.

• Even if the koala's not moving, there may be a joey inside, so please ask an adult to call for help. You could try the RSPCA on 1300 ANIMAL or call your vet for the number of your nearest wildlife organisation, such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Or you could try a postcode search on www.fauna.org.au to find a nearby wildlife carer.

• Lastly, you could store the right rescue number for your area in your phone just in case!

How you can help koalas

Like Rose, everyone can help save our koalas! If you live in a koala area you could:

• Keep native gum trees in your yard.

• Ask your parents and friends to drive carefully and watch for wildlife on the roads, especially at night or in low light.

• Keep your dogs and cats inside at night. Even small dogs can hurt koalas and other native animals.

• Ask your parents to build koala-friendly fences.

Or, like Rose, if you discover an issue you could:

• Write letters to politicians and newspapers urging them to make koala conservation a priority. You could even draw up a petition.

• Report koala sightings in your local area.

• Organise a fun run to raise money for research and rehabilitation.

• Start a tree planting program at your school.

• Check out the websites below for more information and ideas.