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sturdy hiking boots, leading tourists through Banff
National Park.
Where will the animals go? asked Sheryl
Sanders.
Emily knew Sheryl was thinking about the baby
bunnies she d stumbled over during one of their
walks last spring.
I just don t know, mumbled Ms. Hopper.
Neither did Emily. Everything near the
Wellington school was filled with shopping malls,
houses, or factories.
Emily walked home from school to the small,
sunny apartment where she lived with her mother.
Hey, watch it, warned her mother, who was put-
ting away groceries. Get those muddy shoes off and
put them on that newspaper. Honestly, Em, do you
purposely step into mudholes?
The trillium is starting to bloom, replied Emily.
I had to walk through some mud to look at it up
close.
Checking out wildflowers again? asked her
mom.
Yup, replied Emily glumly.
Judging by your long face, I guess you ve heard
the news, said her mom as she set a box of granola
70 Girls to the Rescue, Book #4
on the shelf. I heard that your woods are going to be
cleared to make way for a new housing development.
It s not my woods, Mom, said Emily. If it
were, it wouldn t be torn down. There are other
places to build houses. Why build them on the only
woods in our part of town?
For money, of course, said her mother. People
will pay a lot to live so close to schools and shopping.
There are more important things than money,
Emily shot back.
Her mother laughed. You don t have to tell me,
Emily. I agree with you! But then, we ve never had
much money, so what do we know?
We know that cutting down the woods is
wrong, said Emily.
Well, Jack Dubois owns the property, said her
mother. He can do what he wants with it.
Everyone knew Jack Dubois, the real-estate
tycoon. He had built the Dubois Office Towers down-
town as well as numerous apartment buildings and
shopping centers. Emily had often seen his picture in
the newspapers and on TV.
It s too bad, Emily, continued her mom. But
cheer up. You ll be a naturalist someday, with or
without Wellington Woods.
Save Wellington Woods!! 71
The next day Ms. Hopper took the class for a
walk through Wellington Woods. One last time, she
said. The bulldozers will be here on Monday.
Can t we do something? said Sheryl Sanders.
I don t know what, said Ms. Hopper. The land
belongs to Mr. Dubois. Perhaps we should be glad
he s left it alone as long as he has.
Does he know how much we use Wellington
Woods? asked Emily.
Ms. Hopper sighed. Several people, including
me, phoned Mr. Dubois. But his office always says
he s busy. He s avoiding us.
For the rest of the day, Emily couldn t concentrate
on her schoolwork.
Earth to Emily, Mr. Chester said during history
class. Hello, is there any intelligent life in there?
Emily s face flushed as the other kids laughed.
We re talking about the sixties, said Mr.
Chester. Love-ins, flower children, and bell-bottoms.
Did you read the chapter?
Emily hadn t, but she piped right up. I know a
lot about the sixties, she said. My mother was a
flower child in New York City. I saw a picture of her
in our album wearing love beads and long hair. Her
family came to Canada in the sixties to protest the
Vietnam War. She was also a freedom rider.
72 Girls to the Rescue, Book #4
That s very interesting, Emily, said Mr. Chester.
Many Americans immigrated to Canada to protest
that war. But tell us what a freedom rider is.
My mom, said Emily proudly, went to
Columbia University. She rode a bus to Alabama with
a bunch of other Columbia University students to
protest segregation. You know, like making black
people and white people go to separate schools.
Emily looked around at the faces of her friends
black, Asian, Indian. She was glad her school had all
kinds of students.
That s right, Emily, said Mr. Chester. Your
mother was part of an important era. He paused.
But you still ought to read the chapter.
Emily sighed. Yes, Mr. Chester.
Emily pictured her mom in her college days,
carrying signs and shouting slogans. Her present-day
mom was far from a rebel. She worked in a bookstore,
ate health food, and wore sensible shoes. When she
talked about her radical youth, she d say, It was
another time. I believed I could change the world.
Now I know you can t make the world be exactly
how you want it. But, she always added, that
doesn t mean you shouldn t keep trying.
Save Wellington Woods!! 73
Emily pictured herself as a radical storming into
Mr. Dubois s office and demanding that Wellington
Woods be saved. But she knew she d get laughed at.
Or thrown out. Or both. One girl couldn t stop a
powerful man like Jack Dubois. And she sure as heck
couldn t stop a bulldozer.
Mr. Chester was still talking. The sixties were a
time of great idealism among young people. They
believed they could change the world for the better.
And many of the changes people struggled for back
then like school integration did come about.
Emily listened. Changes had happened, but not
easily. Sometimes it must have seemed hopeless, yet
they didn t give up. And I can t give up either, she
thought. Anyway, I m not trying to change the whole
world. Just one little part of it in Ontario called
Wellington Woods. She knew what she had to do.
After school, Emily stopped kids as they came
out the doors and told them her idea. Spread the
word, she said.
All weekend, she called more students and asked
them to call others. She went over to Sheryl Sanders s
house on Sunday afternoon with colorful markers and
a stack of poster board.
On Monday morning Ms. Hopper arrived at
school a little late. She rushed into her room to find it
74 Girls to the Rescue, Book #4
nearly empty. She looked out the window for some
sign of the missing students. They can t all be sick!
she said. Then she looked toward Wellington Woods.
She grabbed her sweater and headed out the door
with several other teachers close behind her. What s
happening? they asked. Where are all the kids?
The first one they saw was Sheryl Sanders. She
was sitting on a low tree branch, holding a big sign
that read, WHERE WILL THE ANIMALS GO? Then
they saw Andy Chu standing in the pond with his
jeans rolled up to his knees. He was holding a sign
that read, THIS IS OUR SCIENCE CLASSROOM!
Dozens of kids circled the trees, perched on rocks, sat
along the edge of the pond they were all over
Wellington Woods.
When the sound of bulldozers drew near, Emily
raised the bullhorn one of the cheerleaders had loaned
her. We, the students of Wellington School, protest
the destruction of this land, she shouted. Save
Wellington Woods!
The rest of the students chimed in, Save
Wellington Woods!
The bulldozers stopped at the edge of the woods.
Hey, teach, get these kids outta here, one of the
workers said to Ms. Hopper.
Save Wellington Woods!! 75
Ms. Hopper responded by planting herself beside
Emily, folding her arms, and joining the chant: Save
Wellington Woods!
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