treedomfighters

Former bricklayer, Alec Marr left the building site back in 1983 to become involved with the ultimately successful campaign to save Tasmania's Farmhouse Creek and the Lemonthyme Forest from being woodchipped. Since then, Alec never went back to the trowel and cement-mixer, and is now the National Campaign Director for the Wilderness Society. The fight for Australia's wild places and remaining forests sometimes requires straight talking and clear thinking, and these have been Alec's great gifts to the campaign.

These days Alec and his partner Virginia, are based in Canberra, but they come back to Tasmania as often as they can for campaign work and to enjoy the wilderness they have fought so hard to save from the woodchip corporations.

Geoff is one of Tasmania's foremost environmentalists, and has spearheaded campaigns that have saved thousands of hectares of Tasmania's remaining wilderness areas. Born in 1958, Geoff started bushwalking in Tasmania in 1975, and began his environmental career in 1981 with his involvement in the Franklin River campaign. He began work on the forest campaign in 1985 and Geoff is now the Tasmanian Campaign Coordinator with the Wilderness Society. His partner, Amanda, is also one of Tasmania's most prominent environmental defenders. They have a 19-month old son, Elliott, who has just learned to run!


Russell was approached to join The Wilderness Society, as the CEO, in 1996, to be responsible for the finances, fundraising, membership and all administrative functions of the Society. Prior to his appointment he held various management roles over many years with Myer and Fitzgeralds Department Store chains, culminating as the Finance Director with Fitzgeralds. While The Wilderness Society did not expect Russell to remain for an extended period, it is now 8 years and he has been an integral part of the rapid growth in the Society. Russell has three children, one now in Melbourne and the other two still in Tassie.


Leanne worked as the Corporate Campaigner for The Wilderness Society for 6 years, where she was instrumental in all important corporate campaigns including a Jabiluka campaign and a Tasmanian forest campaign. Born and bred in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, Leanne now lives in St. Kilda (Melbourne), and has one adult daughter - Amy, who lives in the hills behind Byron Bay with her partner and her dog 'Catdog'. Admitted to practice as a solicitor in NSW, Leanne holds a Masters in Labour Law and is currently employed as an Environmental Business Analyst for a ratings agency.


26 year old Heidi Douglas is an award winning independent film-maker and Audio Visual Producer for The Wilderness Society in Tasmania. She was born and raised in Newcastle by school teachers Greg and Karen Douglas, who gave Heidi and her two siblings - Ben (journalist) and Shani (photographer and mother) - a deep appreciation of wilderness from a very young age. Her first memories are climbing mountains in Yosemite National Park (California) - in her "magic" walking shoes, at age four. Since then she has studied a Bachelor of Arts Communications and Media Arts from the University of Newcastle, and is continuing studies in Journalism at the University of Tasmania. She adores Tasmania for its mythical wilderness and its creative community, and believes in a Tasmania that capitalises on these assets, rather than destroying them. Heidi's hobbies include producing Indymedia publications, organising community events with Terraphonic Sound System, wilderness appreciation and writing a horror movie script.


The Wilderness Society is a national, community-based, environmental advocacy organisation whose mission is to protect, promote and restore wilderness and natural processes across Australia for the survival and ongoing evolution of life on Earth. It works through the avenues of public education and empowerment, advocacy and negotiation, political lobbying, and desk and field research. The Wilderness Society is politically unaligned, but uses the political process to maximise wise conservation decisions, and is one of Australia's largest environment campaign organisations.

Since its formation in 1976 The Wilderness Society has achieved the secure protection of over seven million hectares of wilderness and other high conservation value areas in Australia, including:

Kakadu

The Daintree

a half million hectares of the Yellabinna mallee

South West Tasmania

Australia's sub-Antarctic

Victoria's malle woodlands.

For more information see: www.wilderness.org.au

The ancient and wild forests of Tasmania inspire and nurture Adam's spirit. He has campaigned for a number of years with the Huon Valley Environment Centre for their protection from the woodchip companies. It was the threat of industrial forestry near his home and the impact on the local community that pushed Adam and other local residents to take a stand for their small rural valley. It was this stand for the wildlife, forests and people of Lucaston, that has resulted in him being sued by Gunns Ltd.


Louise Morris initially came to Tasmania for a short summer vacation and to see the natural beauty of the island. That was almost four years ago. Since then Louise has fallen in love with the landscape and lifestyle of Tasmania and has devoted a significant part of her time campaigning for the protection of Tasmania's forests. Louise was previously based in Western Australia where she was involved with the hugely successful forest campaign leading up to the state election of 2001. Massive advances for the forests and forest management resulted. Louise is currently completing a double degree in Journalism and Politics as well as writing for various independent media publications across Australia and in Britain. Louise has also had the great honour of receiving the 2005 Australian Conservation Foundation's Peter Rawlinson Conservation Award. As of September of 2005 Louise is also the sole defendant in a new lawsuit by Tasmanian Logging company Harback Logging, filed in the Tasmanian Supreme Court.


Simon was born and raised in Tasmania, but it took him moving to New South Wales and becoming involved in forest activism over the Badja State Forest to realise the how much worse logging is in Tasmania when compared with most of the mainland. Returning to Tasmania in late 2001, Simon has spent much of the past four years campaigning in Tasmania and Victoria against the woodchipping of Tasmania's wild forests. Simon works both as a relief primary school cleaner and as Artistic Director of the Hobart Fringe Festival, as well as doing odd jobs for various arts organisations. He is also an electronic musician and new media artist, and has spoken at the Electrofringe festival in Newcastle, been played on community radio across the country and was featured on ABC television as part of the NOISE festival.


Bob Brown has been a life-long campaigner for Tasmania's forests and wilderness areas. He rose to national prominence in the early 1980s when he left his job as a family doctor to spearhead the successful campaign to save the majestic Franklin River from being dammed. The price of defending Tasmania's wilderness has been very high. Bob was shot at and assaulted during protests against logging at Tasmania's Farmhouse Creek in 1986-7. In 1995 Bob was arrested and jailed twice for demonstrating peacefully to protect Tasmania's Tarkine Wilderness from roading and logging. After 10 years in the Tasmanian parliament, he was elected to the Australian Senate in 1996. In 1990, Bob Brown established the highly influential Australian Bush Heritage Fund to buy land for conservation. Bob has a house on the Liffey River beneath snowy Drys Bluff in central Tasmania. For more information see: www.bobbrown.org.au


Peg is from Tasmania's Huon Valley, south of Hobart. She is a popular and effective Member of Parliament, so much so that at the last state election, her huge vote was only eclipsed by the then Premier Jim Bacon. Peg is the leader of the Tasmanian Parliamentary Greens in the House of Assembly Tasmania, and the Member for Denison. She first was elected to parliament in 1993. Peg has been a forests campaigner since 1978. Her portfolios are: Forestry, Treasury and Employment, Economic Development, Tourism, Parks, Heritage and the Arts, Aboriginal affairs, Women, Police, Mining. Peg has two children and a partner who works in the conservation movement. She was previously the Director of the Tasmanian Conservation Trust, and prior to this she was responsible for the establishment of the Threatened Species Network in Tasmania.


Tasmanian born, Helen Gee lives on the East coast of Tasmania. One of Tasmania's foremost environmentalists, authors and educators, Helen is a founding member of the Wilderness Society, Convenor of the Lake Pedder Restoration Committee, Convenor of the South East Forest Protection Group and an Australian Conservation Foundation Councillor. Among her publications, she has written two definitive works on Tasmania's wilderness heritage, "The South West Book: a Tasmanian wilderness", and the ultimate history of Tasmania's forest campaigns, "For the Forests". Helen and husband Bob Graham run a grazing property where their children Thomas and Alice developed a love of the bush. Helen's latest book is "River of Verse: A Tasmanian Journey 1800 - 2004" and is published by Back River Press, 2004.


30 year old Ben Morrow, from Newcastle NSW, spent most of 2004 in Tasmania's Styx Valley, including on high in the Global Rescue Station, helping to raise awareness of the plight of Tasmania's ancient forests. Having completed an Environmental Science degree in Newcastle in 2000, after returning from a four month trip to the Sub-Continent, Ben came to the realisation that he would now have to look for a "real" job. Since then Ben has worked with environmental organisations and grassroots groups on the protection of Australia's high conservation value forests. Not exactly a "real" job some would say, but with our government's inability or lack of interest in protecting our highest conservation value forests, one that should be of the highest priority for all Australians! Ben is hoping to spend as much time as he can this year either "up the hills" or clinging to rock faces somewhere in Tassie, whilst trying not to think too much about the warm water and waves back in Newcastle. That is while he is not campaigning against turning Tassie's highest value resource (our ancient forests) into the lowest value product (woodchips!).


Like many Tasmanians, Lou never thought for a minute that she'd ever be involved with an environmental campaign. Like many Tasmanians, however, her hand was forced when the magnificent forests next to her Lucaston property became an industrial logging zone. Married with children and grandchildren, Lou and her husband were in the process of developing her property for eco-tourism, but these plans were put on hold while she and her neighbours fought for the peace, safety and amenity of their families, surrounding wildlife and forests.


At 26, Neal is the youngest member of the Gunns 20. A bastard son, the two most important people in Neal's world are his adopted parents Pat and Dave who live on the north coast of NSW. Neal lives in Sydney where he will finish his law degree this year at the University of New South Wales. He would like to thank Gunns for this invaluable legal opportunity at such a formative time in his career.


A well known Tasmanian film and documentary maker, Brian produced the ground breaking 2003 documentary "The Battle of Bakers Creek". Hailed as one of the most powerful environmental films ever seen, the documentary covers the battle waged by members of a small Tasmanian community against Gunns Ltd plans to log the beautiful forests of the Lucaston Valley, 40 minutes south of Hobart. Brian knows only too well the high price of telling the outside world about environmental destruction in Tasmania. While filming traffic footage for the documentary in a public place, Brian, and his camera equipment, were attacked by a log truck driver. The attack was caught on film and broadcast nationally giving a window for the rest of the country on the realities faced by brave people trying to raise awareness about logging in Tasmania.


Located in woodchipping heartland in the town of Huonville, Southern Tasmania, the Huon Valley Environment Centre stands against incredible odds and is a brave beacon to the community. The Centre is a meeting space for environmentalists, and has a great range of gifts, books, plants and a lending library. It has become an oasis for so many environmentally minded people. It is staffed by a committed group of Tasmanians volunteers, and has a great atmosphere, is a regular venue for film, fundraising and music nights. Despite getting the occasional dirty look from some of the customers in the chainsaw shop across the road, the Centre has become a vital and popular landmark in the Huon Valley. The Huon Valley Environment Centre is located at shop 3/17 Wilmot Rd, Huonville, and is open Tuesday - Friday.


What's a mild-mannered Dentist doing sticking his neck out for Tasmania's disappearing wilderness? It all started when clearfelling near the family property in the Cam River Valley, began in 1998. The Cam Valley, south of Burnie was one of the North West's last forested valleys. Astoundingly, the Cam River runs into the water catchment for the Towns of Somerset and Wynyard. The Valley has some magnificent forests and is in a steep, erosion prone valley that was home to the endangered wedgetailed eagle and giant freshwater crayfish. Peter is a founding member of Doctors for Forests and, and the Pullinger family are all now active with the Tarkine National Coalition, a group trying to achieve protection for Australia's largest temperate rainforest, located in the Northwest of Tasmania (click on links for more information). Peter is married to Leonie and has 4 children.


Dr Frank Nicklason is a Physician at the Royal Hobart Hospital, and is a founding member of Doctors for Forests. A farmer's son from the far North-East of Tasmania, Frank first became concerned about public health issues associated with industrial conversion forestry (native forest and farmland to monoculture plantation) in the early 1990s when 2 massive plantations were established near his brother's organic beef farm. The herbicides atrazine and simazine were applied with questionable occupational health standards and attention to preventing entry of chemicals into waterways during aerial spraying. Frank is motivated by a strong sense for issues of inter-generational equity. He was asked 2 years ago by his daughter Aoife; "Dad will there still be scenery when I grow up?" Frank was voted by doctors in training at the Royal Hobart Hospital as supervisor of the year 2004. He is Chairman of the Medical Staff Association at the hospital. His brother continues the family farming tradition and a sister is an enthusiastic publicist of the natural splendor of the North East Highlands and guides walkers on the trails marked out by the Friends of the Blue Tier.


(20) Doctors for Native Forests Inc.