Planeteers Desiree Johnston and Laura Fitch are fighting to protect Tasmania’s environment.
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The Launceston campaigners are part of the international ‘Captain Planet Foundation’ and are hoping to create awareness in their hometown.
The foundation is based around the nineties television series ‘Captain Planet and the Planeteers’ and aims to empower young people to stand up for their community and the environment.
Since becoming a planeteer, Ms Johnston said she had focused on cleaning up her local area.
“I’ve been picking up rubbish around Newstead, where I live, so mostly along Hoblers Bridge Road,” she said.
“I’ve also written to my local council to organise larger recycling bins for the area.
“And I would love to work with them and Forestry Tasmania to plant some trees.”
Both Ms Johnston and Ms Fitch are part of ‘The CP Club’, a group they started to encourage other conservationists in Launceston and across Tasmania.
“There’s nobody else in Tasmania that we know of who is part of the foundation,” Ms Fitch said.
“So I’m trying to convince my friends to join and become planeteers, because there’s not as much awareness of environmental issues in Tasmania as I’d like there to be.”
With the recent release of the series on DVD, Ms Johnston said she hoped its message would reach a new audience.
“I think it’s vital for today’s generation to become aware of it because it has great lessons,” she said.
“I watched the series as a child and a teenager and I wasn’t fully aware of the environmental problems we face in the world.”
Ms Johnston said while she hoped awareness in Tasmania would increase, it was also important to highlight global issues.
We don’t want to get to a point where we leave the world in a mess.
- Desiree Johnston, Planeteer
“I mean you hear people talking about us ending up having to move to another planet, and that’s just ridiculous.
“So hopefully we can help in some way.”