CHAPTER 17
‘Chelonia , You’re a Champion!’

OVER THE NEXT WEEK THE days returned to normal. Lessons in the morning, a visit to the turtles, and rubbish collecting on one beach after another. The sea was throwing up just as much as ever and Chellie had to remind herself that it would continue that way for a while. Many boaties had been out cruising and partying over the Australia Day weekend and most of them probably had not got the message yet. Nor had the fishing crews. She just had to keep at it.

Think of Caretta’s babies, she told herself. ‘Sharks stay away, today and every day, from the baby turtles out in the bay. Noddies and boobies stay away, today and every day, from the baby turtles out in the bay. Hungry fish stay away, today and every day, from the baby turtles out in the bay.’ Remember the good times with Mark and John’s and Ted’s families and Miss Howe and Jim and their friends.

The bags and bins started to fill again, but more hatchings at night along Home Beach encouraged her to persist. ‘Go, little turtles, go! Stay safe, stay strong, grow, grow, grow. And come back again. Please do,’ she chanted as she made and measured a new rope boa constrictor on each beach.

Statistics were important, Dad had said. So Chellie carried a notebook now and jotted down the tallies for each day. After all, if she was going to be a scientist and do research she had to have data. How much deadly rope, lines and fishing gear? How many plastic bags? How many plastic bottles? How many thongs and all those miscellaneous items? Dad had suggested the miscellaneous category. It covered a lot of stuff.

Emails came from Tim, Jacinta and Will, Jack and Alice telling about school. Chellie wondered what it would be like to go to school with other kids. She could hardly wait until everyone came back at Easter. As well as answering them she wrote to Mark and told him all that had happened. She also went on with Caretta’s story for Miss Howe. She wrote to the turtle research people too and told them about Caretta’s 117 babies. In their reply they thanked her very much. They said how pleased they had been to see the newspaper article and asked her to be one of their regular observers. Chellie was rapt.

The following week Dad went to the mainland for stores and mail. When he returned he announced, ‘You’ve scored the most, Chellie!’ and dumped two fat packets on the table in front of her.

‘For me?’ Chellie exclaimed, seizing them. Her new worksheets were not due from school yet, but one large envelope had the school logo on it. The other envelope, addressed to Chelonia Green, Champion of Turtles, was from Mark’s newspaper. She ripped it open and more envelopes came tumbling out as well as a copy of the supplement with a note from Mark: Thought you’d like to see this. Hope it brings results.

Two of the envelopes had gold crests. ‘This is from the Premier of Queensland!’ Chellie squeaked in amazement. ‘And there’s one from our Member of Parliament too.’

‘Careful how you open them,’ Dad suggested. ‘These letters are for Chelonia Green’s archives.’

Mum produced a knife and Chellie slit them open.

‘The Premier commends me for my actions,’ she squawked, ‘and our Member of Parliament does too.’ She passed the letters to her parents, and picked up others which also had official envelopes. ‘It’s from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority! Thanking me for my responsible citizenship! And the World Wide Fund for Nature director says I’ll be pleased to know they are already campaigning for clean seas to protect marine life. The Australian Conservation Foundation director says that my action helps focus public attention on the problem.

‘And listen to this! James Cook University’s Head of the Marine Sciences Department is pleased I want to be a marine biologist and says to contact them when I’m old enough to start the course. That’s awesome!’

She pulled the last letter from its envelope. ‘Oh Mum! Dad! It’s a school offering me a scholarship! The Principal says they encourage initiative and enterprise and I seem to be just the sort of student they want to help achieve her ambition.’ Chellie fell silent, staring through the window out to the turquoise sea which lapped Home Beach’s sticky caramel sand and ribbon of shells.

She put the letter down, declaring, ‘But I couldn’t go away to boarding school and leave the turtles.’

‘Not yet perhaps,’ Mum murmured. ‘But in a year or two you might be ready,’ Dad added.

Chellie nodded slowly. ‘I’m like a turtle still growing inside its egg, still incubating in the warm sand of Home Beach. But the hatching time will come, and then I’ll have to take to the ocean too.’

Mum and Dad hugged her.

‘That’s about it. But it’s not time yet. Now, what about that other envelope?’

More letters came sliding out, addressed to Chelonia Green, School of Distance Education, with a little note from Miss Howe: Here’s your fan mail!

Chellie blushed, then started to read the letters. Several were from students with whom she shared lessons. One wrote, Chelonia, you’re a champion! Two were from other kids – one in New South Wales, one in Canberra – who had read the story in the paper.

There were a couple from adults, too, praising her efforts. The rubbish may seem to go on and on. But persevere with what you’ve started. Never underestimate what one person’s actions can achieve, wrote an 85-year-old lady from Adelaide. A West Australian man campaigning to protect the turtles on Ningaloo Reef also urged her to keep up the good work; and a student from Western Australia sent a poem she had written when she was a volunteer at a threatened turtle colony in South America.

Chellie was overwhelmed. Caretta’s death had brought all these letters to her island, all these people into her life. With so many persons caring about turtles, surely one of Caretta’s babies had a chance of surviving. Chellie resolved that when she was a marine biologist she would come back with her children in thirty years time and welcome Caretta’s daughter home.

Meantime there was still a job to be done. ‘See ya, Mum, see ya, Dad.’ Turtle Beach was calling. How many plastic bags would she find today?