Mission Climate Change by Bindi Irwin Page A

this year, and dropped into Australia Zoo on his way through,’ answered Bindi. ‘He spoke to us about the climate change conference he was organising, and asked whether we wanted to take part.’
    Madi smiled. ‘And of course you said –’
    â€˜YES, and here we all are,’ finished off Bindi.
    â€˜It’s awesome,’ said DJ, trying to stop his teeth from chattering.
    Kelly was already talking to the professor about his university work. He was a lecturer in environmental science, and extremely passionate about conservation and wildlife.She shared his enthusiasm, and was interested in studying marine biology, so they hit it off immediately. Taking in his thick woollen coat, black-rimmed glasses and blond beard, Kelly thought he looked exactly like a professor should!
    As the group left the airport terminal, snowflakes were falling lightly. Madi, who had never seen snow before, was mesmerised. ‘Everything is so white!’ he exclaimed.
    â€˜Yes,’ agreed the professor, taking a look around. ‘For months of the year, Finland is a snow-covered paradise.’
    DJ muttered under his breath, ‘I’m pretty sure paradise is warmer than this.’
    Hannah and Kelly giggled their agreement. Although everyone had wrapped up warm in layers of coats, hats and scarves, they couldn’t help but shiver.
    â€˜Don’t worry, we’ll be in Kuhmo in a shake of a lamb’s tail,’ the professor said optimistically. Terri, Kirsten, Hannah, DJ and Kelly jumped into a large station wagon, which was driven by Alek, a neighbour of Fredrik’s.
    The professor then led Madi, Bindi and Robert over to a sleek black Audi. Once inside, the car’sheater starting blowing out warm air and the children began to relax.
    Madi turned to Bindi. ‘How long is a shake of a lamb’s tail?’ he asked.
    Professor Tikkanen overheard the question. ‘Ah, in this case, a little under eight hours,’ he answered, ‘as long as the snowfall doesn’t get any heavier. It’s been coming down quite heavily for the past week, but it’s due to lessen within the next day or two.’
    Madi looked out the car window, eyes wide. ‘I can’t believe I’m in Finland, with real snow!’
    â€˜It’s a long way from Sumatra, and a long way from Australia, that’s for sure!’ Bindi said. ‘I’m soglad you were able to take part in the conference.’
    Madi looked serious. ‘So am I. I don’t want my island home to disappear because of rising sea levels. We need to take action on climate change to stop it from happening.’
    Professor Tikkanen took the motorway turn-off, beginning the trip north. ‘And that is why we’ve invited children from all over the world to this conference,’ he said with enthusiasm. ‘It will be the first time that we’ll have a truly global perspective on climate change from the younger generation. It will be wonderful!’
    The landscape of Finland wasvery different to Madi’s homeland. Professor Tikkanen explained that the country had over 187,000 lakes, and a population of around 5.2 million people.
    â€˜Now that we’ve left the city, the countryside looks like a big national park,’ observed Madi.
    Professor Tikkanen nodded. ‘We certainly have a lot of trees,’ he said. ‘But Finland is one of the world’s biggest producers of pulp and paper products, which means we cut down a lot of them too.’
    Bindi had researched this a little. ‘Yes, but I’ve read that Finland also has 35 national parks and 12 wilderness areas that are protected by law.’
    The professor smiled. ‘That’s true. And we are now one of the world leaders in using bioenergy, which means we use renewable resources, namely wood, to do things like generate heat and electricity, instead of using fuels that require destructive mining and will one day run out.