Albi Wooler and his Olympic Torch!!! (Sat 4th Oct)

Olympic torch One of the most surprising visitors to the open day was an incredible gentleman called Albi Wooler. President of Capricorn Coast Landcare Group, he has been a leader in voluntary environmental work for more than twenty years, bringing awareness to young people and educating students on conservation issues. This year, on the day of his 77th birthday, he had the great honour of being an Olympic torch bearer! What a treat for us! We are in the first week of our journey and we have already met our first celebrity. The Cheeky Gang with Albi Woooler, watch this space to view our soon to come interview with an Olympic torch Bearer
Through Youth Landcare programs he has made children feel the effects of their presence on our environments, educating them by giving them hands on projects in conservation work. When children feel part of something they strive to take care of what they have found a connection with and pass on their knowledge, so Albi’s work carries on beyond his immediate teachings.
Phil holds the relay torch
Albi was worried before the torch bearing about the possibility of protesters. He vowed, that if the worst came to worst, “It will take more than a couple of demonstrators to stop me”. Luckily Australia was the only country in which there were no protesters hindering the relay, and 250 meters later, Albi had ran uninhibited through the streets of Canberra, much to the delight of all his fans.
An inspiration to us all, Albi told us how important it is to teach our children about conservation work. He passed each of us a tree to plant on Leah’s Alpaca farm so we could add a shade bearing seedling to the open landscape, making our mark on Queensland. This is the first time I have ever planted a tree and it is also the first time I’ve ever ‘dug me a hole’. With the earth quite dry here, to say that with a pick axe I had the deftness of an otter on land trying to fit a square thing in a round hole with one flipper, would be bragging. The axe fell on the ground, not with a sound of a mighty swoop, but with a quiet splathug ding, whereby a tiny chipping would fly off in the direction that all dirt seems to fly with magnetic force on this trip - onto my feet. With the want to be an efficient Landcarer, but achieving nought but the speed of a sedated sloth on down time, I chipped away at the hard earth to reveal a crack barely large enough to squeeze in the shrubbery, but Albi helped me out by giving me advice on the delicate process of tree transplantation. My fine Maiden’s Blush is now on in the alpaca field standing waist height, I hope I get a chance to see it in its full glory one day. The boys planted their fig trees and we all stood back to admire our work with pride. It’s a great feeling to know that we have left a little something permanent but good in our footprints.
Albi was filmed by Coca-Cola in a documentary film soon to be premiered. See the official Olymic Website for more.