By Tania Martin
THREE hills girls have taken their campaign to help save the Leadbeater’s possum global.
Up against the odds, twins Ellie and Mollie Travica of Emerald, Kallista’s Elly Robertson along with team mate Luke McConnell of Berwick travelled to America to take on an international problem solving competition.
Their project was simple – to help save one of Victoria’s emblems, the Leadbeater’s possum.
Known as Helping the Endangered Leadbeater’s Possum (HELP), the project has been a direct result of the Black Saturday bush fires.
Less than 3000 of the possums are left in Australia and the fires destroyed 75 per cent of their habitat. For the competition the group raised more than $23,850 for new habitat boxes for the possums.
But for them it was more than just a project.
Molly said it was great knowing they were helping something that needed their support.
Elly said the cash raised paid for 159 habitat boxes which cost $150 each.
The group has now returned home after just missing out on taking the international title of the Macquarie Bank Problem Solving Competition.
HELP missed out by just six points against a Japanese school with a team of more than 110 students.
Despite, the competition now being over, the group has vowed to continue to help the possums.
They were thrilled to take home the runner-up prize and couldn’t believe it was so close.
As part of the competition the group had to hold a stall at a fair to tell people about their project.
But they didn’t realise it would be so hard to sell the plight of the possums. Molly said Americans hate possums as they are “big and ugly” over there.
“So we had to use a cute photograph of the Leadbeater’s possum in everything we did,” Elly said.
Despite this set back, HELP managed to work their charm and the judges soon fell in love with the possums.
“I think it’s really important for kids our age to help out with something they are really passionate about because in the end when we grow up we are going to live in the environment that we created,” Elly said.
