00 SCORE Blackshaw The LIttle Bush Buddha

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…and then it hit me. It was entirely possible that I would see the extinction of the koala in my own lifetime (and I’m already in my
50’s). Tears rolled down my cheeks. How could I not know? How could I, a passionate environmentalist, a proud Australian and a
member of a regional Australian community not know how desperately fragile the situation is for the Australia koala at this very
moment? The global pandemic greatly overshadowed the impact of the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires. The impact of those
devastating fires didn’t just magically go away, it’s just that the media turned our attention toward the next “big disaster”.
Communities didn’t have time to catch their breath and our native flora and fauna were seemingly left out in the cold. It will literally
take decades for native populations to recover (if they ever do).
Two years later, on Feb. 11, 2022, the koala was listed as endangered by the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act. Prior to British settlement, there were an estimated 10 million koalas living along the East coast. Today, the
Australian Koala Foundation places that number at somewhere between 43-80 thousand. 61,000 koalas were lost in the
bushfires.
“The Little Bush Buddha” is a wakeup call to all Australians. We can ensure the future of the koala and many other precious native
Australian species IF we act now. What we need to do most is write to our local politicians strongly requesting a new act of
parliament called the ‘Koala Protection Act’ that will prioritise the protection of native bushland.
How will that help? The ‘Koala Protection Act’ will help to establish corridors of bushland throughout the East coast of Australia
to enable wider movement, migration, access to healthy habitat and safe passages for travel. You can do this easily through the
Australian Koala Foundation (they’ve written a letter for you AND provide easy links to find the right person in your electorate:)
https://www.savethekoala.com/our-work/support-the-koala-protection-act/
(You can even scan this code and do it now, while you wait for the concert to start.)
Scan here to
write to send a letter
Scan here to learn how to make your
home safe for wildlife
Scan here to donate to the
Australian Koala Foundation
As for the “The Little Bush Buddha”, you will hear what urbanisation might sound like to a koala. Place yourself in their shoes for
the next 5 or so minutes and treat the band in front of you as their impression of human beings. Notice how things change when
the musicians become aware of their place within the ecosystem and tread with more consideration and respect.
“If you cannot save the Koala, you cannot save anything.”
Deborah Talbart, OAM, Director, Australian Koala Foundation
Jodie Blackshaw
Baranduda, Victoria, 2022
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