My life changed when I learned how to cure my hopeless climate anxiety.
After the 2020 bushfires in Australia, my sense of impending planetary doom had skyrocketed, and I felt completely helpless. We Aussies are a resilient bunch, but I don’t think any of us were immune to the horror of the Black Summer.
Among our memories of orange skies, ash-faced firefighters, and families fleeing in boats, are images of koalas.
You know the ones – a koala carried from the flames by a brave local woman, or the firefighter feeding a koala water from a bottle.
As a nation, we were instilled with a sense of helplessness that we didn’t know how to reconcile.
Many of us still live with the grief of the Black Summer, but I don’t grapple with it as much as I used to. I haven’t suppressed and ignored it, though; I’ve learned how to cure it:
Action is the antidote.
Janine Duffy, the woman behind Koala Clancy Foundation, has experienced so much devastation in her work with koalas, almost all because of climate change.
Yet, she still has a contagiously positive attitude toward our mission for koalas.
After the Black Summer, having already lost a koala population to bushfire in 2006, Janine dusted off the ashes and set an ambitious target for Koala Clancy Foundation to plant 300,000 trees by 2030. These trees could save the koalas in and around the You Yangs, Victoria.
We’ve now planted 164,789 trees.
We’ve also removed 4.3 million invasive boneseed weeds from the You Yangs to restore critical koala habitat.
Janine has co-authored a scientific publication about her own koala discovery to help others around Australia monitor local koala populations.
We’ve researched, consulted with experts, learned from the local Aboriginal community, and developed a strong, evidence-based approach to save our koalas.
Janine refused to accept a future without koalas and chose to take action – and we’re seeing positive results already.
Action is the antidote.
Janine showed me that the feeling of helplessness we all share lifts when we join hands and become the change koalas need.
Individual action, multiplied across a community, is the antidote.
Since the Black Summer, 3825 passionate individuals have participated in Koala Clancy Foundation events, and thanks to the generosity of donors across the globe, we’ve funded more than half of the 300,000 trees we’ll plant by 2030.
Now you might be wondering, “But what can I do?”
Instead, I encourage you to ask, “What will I do?”
There are so many opportunities to take action in the Koala Clancy community.
This winter, we need to raise $50,000. These funds are critical to make the 2025 tree planting season possible. We also need hundreds of participants to join our weekend planting days to get our trees in the ground. Plus, we have fundraising material to use within your community, and an open calendar for corporate teams to join us.
If the images of the past or ideas of the future weigh on your heart, remember this:
Action is the antidote.
Click here to learn more about how to get involved or make a donation.
