Environment

Essie has been vocal in her support of the Bob Brown Foundation and the Wilderness Society in their work to preserve the wilderness of Tasmania.

Deforestation is a massive issue in Tasmania right now. There are over 1 million hectares of forest in Tasmania, including takayna, the largest rainforest in Australia. They house unique and massive trees, like centuries-old Huon pines, as well as rare animals like the swift parrot, the Tasmanian devil, the masked owl, or the platypus. It is also home to a lot of Aboriginal Cultural Landscape. But now, those forests are being destroyed by logging, mining, even toxic waste dumping, which severely endangers some species.

In 2023, Essie was among the 67 prominent Australians who signed an open letter to the Premier urging him to protect the Native Forests of Tasmania, something that the state of Victoria recently did.

Alongside environmental activists and organizations, Essie also voiced her opposition to laws passed in Tasmania in 2022. They significantly restrict the right to protest, even peacefully, by threatening civilians and groups with expensive fines and jail sentences.

When she participated in the charity abseil for the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation in 2020, Essie dressed up as an Orange-Bellied Parrot to raise awareness for this endangered species. The birds breed each year in Tasmania, so the local wilderness is vital to their survival. The good news is that the number of OBPs returning home for the breeding season has been going up for the last three years, with a record 74 birds this in 2022, and 81 OBPs in 2023 ! We’re sure Essie’s message didn’t hurt 😉