I first met activists from Still Wild Still Threatened while at Climate Camp in Aotearoa/ New Zealand in 2009.  Camp Florentine was already four years old by the time I first visited in 2010 and became involved in the southern forests campaign.  Now it’s May 2012 and it’s still there; and Miranda has been holding out up in the Observertree for over five months already.  Through all the vagaries of Tasmanian weather.  Throughs tate promises made and broken.

The idea for ‘Superpossum Saves the Day!’was conceived one evening with a friend in one of those ‘..wouldn’t it be great if…!” moments.  We filmed it at the recent Camp Floz skillshare and community open weekend during one of the brief sunny spells and in between the intermittent hailstorms.  An extremely silly time was had by all,though we had to use a stunt double to play Superpossum at camp, as Miranda obviously couldn’t come down from the Observertree.

But this is a silly film about a serious subject.  We shouldn’t have to still be campaigning.  We should have been able to pack down Camp Floz months ago  and the Observertree should never have needed to be built.  Every week that passes means another part of this irreplaceable ecosystem falls into the teeth of commerce and machinery.  But we will not just sit back and let these forests go quietly.  We will continue to raise awareness of their plight and the companies responsible for this, and agitate for permanent protection. And where necessary we will continue to put ourselves between the forests and their destruction.  If  I was wearing a hat right now I’d take it off to Miranda because I know I couldn’t do what she is doing.  But just like she says in the film, we all need to work together on this. Not  everyone has the ability or inclination to live in a tree sit, but there are many ways to be a Superpossum.  So join the cyber action (click HERE), tell your friends and colleagues about what’s happening, encourage people to follow Miranda in her Observertree blog, write letters, donate or get involved in local campaigning groups such as Still Wild Still Threatened and The Huon Valley Environment Centre. It’s a big problem but we all need to just do what we can, because it’s too important for us not to win this one.

Guest Blog Bio: Kat Lyons

Kat has been part of the southern forests campaign since she arrived in Tasmania in 2010.  This is her first film.