Meet The Eco Protection Squad
Who are they?
The Eco Protection Squad is fighting for our future! They are defending Terra, Mother Earth, from Bill McGreedy and his band of Eco Squashers. During their missions, they share ideas for simple swaps we can make to help keep Terra in great condition for our future generations.
The Eco Protection Squad’s motto is “Terra Mater Est” which means “For Mother Earth” in Latin, the ancient Roman language of science. It helps them remember what they are fighting for when times get tough, or simply to celebrate a success. It’s the team celebratory cheer!
Their base camp, the Vita Tree, was specially created for them by Terra and is set deep in the woods. Supporters of the Eco Protection Squad, well - you readers, are called Saplings, as a connection to the Vita Tree – because you will grow strong and mighty during this fight against the Eco Squashers!
The theme of trees pops up a lot with the Squad throughout their adventures. Terra loves her trees, because they are super important for life, ours and the planet’s, and Danny and the team love sharing trokes (tree themed words/jokes).
Let’s meet the team and find out their special skills!
Go HERE to buy a copy of the first book - The Eco Protection Squad Go To The Park.
Danny Do Gooder
Position: Team Lead, coordinator for the team and big fan of trokes.
About him: He is not afraid to say how TREEmendous or TREEreffic something is but also usually keeps a cool head in stressful situations. Like many of us, Danny would always use items wrapped in plastic, have super long showers, not think about where his rubbish went and not care what he was using as long as it was convenient to him. He didn’t realise how much he was hurting Terra in his normal day to day life and it wasn’t ever chatted about in his school or at his home. After a run in on the beach with a plastic bottle floating past, and stepping on some gum, he started noticing it and wanted to make changes. Terra saw his potential and recruited him for the Eco Protection Squad.
Now he is the team lead and right-hand helper to Terra! He is usually the one that is out and about and will call on team members to help fight Bill McGreedy.
Special skills: His love and compassion are his greatest strengths and he doesn’t give up on people or situations. He also has a mean left hook and right kick when called upon.
Plastic-Free Prival
Position: Defender, Litter Picker and Plastic-Free expert
About her: Prival researches all plastic free options she can find. She avoids single use plastic wrapped items and will come up with alternate options. Prival is also the litter picking legend of the team and never leaves the Vita Tree without her gloves and litter picker. One of the longest squad members of the Eco Protection Squad. She had an accident when she was younger and lost her leg, which only makes her stronger, tougher and more resilient in her fight against Single-Use Sally.
Special power: Prival is the defender of the team and her litter picker can be activated and transformed into a shield to protect the team when needed. She needs to say “Scutum Meus Salvator” (my saviour shield) to activate the shield though. Prival can also activate a super speed when picking up rubbish, which helps when time is of the essence to remove rubbish and help defeat Single-Use Sally and the Toxic Twins.
Recycling Romesh
Position: Hot Shot Recycler
About him: Recycling Romesh helps us navigate the crazy world of recycling, and helps us understand what we can recycle curbside vs what we can recycle in other ways. He’s the first to admit when an item has to be put into the bin, and is always topping up his knowledge to be in the know with the latest recycling trends and loves sharing this with everyone. Every time something that could be recycled is put in the wrong bin, it means the Toxic Twins grow bigger and stronger. Likewise, when packaging is thrown in the recycling bin that shouldn’t go in it, it messes up the recycling system and leads to contamination, which then also feeds the Toxic Twins. Phew, he has his work cut out for him! Good thing he is a hot shot with the recycling then!
Special power: Like Prival, he has super speed and can create a giant green mobius loop to help squash recyclable objects. He also neutralises many issues, such as helping control the Toxic Twins, by putting packaging in the right bin. The more he can take away from the Toxic Twins, the better.
Reusable Ralph
Position: R&R Expert
About him: Ralph is the Reduce & Reuse expert in the group. While his position sounds fancy, he is not. He is by far the mischievous one in the group (especially when with Packable Pete). He has a lot of energy and when not pestering the Eco Squashers, enjoys playing jokes on his fellow Squad mates. If anyone was going to get into trouble, it would be Ralph, hands down! He loves to reuse everything he possibly can and he doesn’t buy anything new. Instead he reuses everything he can to reduce his and the teams’ waste. Their dream is to be waste free, and he helps towards this goal every day.
Special power: He can trap the Eco Squashers in reusable containers and is inventive with how to us them. When he teams up with Packable Pete, there is no telling what they will create. When they fist pump and shout “Futura Nostro” (for our future), they can gain super speed to help them run circles around the Eco Squashers.
Fun Fact Fiona
Position: Detective of Truth
About her: Not all her facts are fun, but she will always give you an interesting comment about the topic in hand. Fiona tends to pop up unexpectedly and then disappears after saying her fact.
It causes the rest of the team to jump, which always makes her chuckle as she has a wicked sense of humour. She frequently has to debunk fake facts shared by Fake News Freddie.
Special powers: Fiona has the ability to appear whenever she feels the need to share a fact. Unfortunately she can’t help with the fight or help get the Eco Protection Squad out of fixes.
In order to have the knowledge that she has, Fiona must stay on the outside of the fight, otherwise she loses access to the source of her truth.
Turn the Tap Off Thandi
Position: Aqua Divinos and Ocean Division Comms
About her: Thandi is one of a kind for sure. There’s an air of mystery surrounding her, likely due to the amount of time she spends around water.
She protects water, as well as all biodiversity that thrives off water, and shares tips to reduce water waste, as well as knowledge for what can cause problems for the waterways, rivers and oceans. She works closely with the Ocean Division and is the first one they call in case of an emergency. Thandi also tries to help them clean up the plastic from oceans and rivers.
Special powers: Ability to communicate with water and lifeforms in water as well as use water to defend against the Eco Squashers. Travels through water to get anywhere. Can speak and listen to rivers and oceans.
Energy Etsuko
Position: Renewable Energy Advocate and Defender of Terra’s natural resources
About her: Etsuko is bubbly, bouncy and energetic. She is in harmony with the natural energy of the world, such as wind, solar and heat. She tackles how much energy is gobbled up through daily life at home, work and when out and about. It means frequent run ins with Bill McGreedy, Petrol Head Paul and Climate Change Carrie for her because she wants to work with nature rather than destroy it to satisfy a quick fix or fill a bank account with money.
Special powers: She has the ability to harness natural energy and craft its strength to help Terra. When she unites with Turn the Tap Off Thandi, it is a sight to see.
Natural Noll
Position: Squad Scientist
About her: Noll is the scientist behind the Eco Protection Squad, and somewhat a mother figure towards them.
She is either tinkering away on some experiements or is researching new ways to live in harmony with her suroundings. She may not be on call with the rest of the squad, preferring to work at their base on new inventions, or rediscovering old ways, but she has a mean kick when pushed.
She is also on the search for her sister Chemical Clara (aka CiCi) who was kidnapped by Bill McGreedy.
Special powers: Her brain is her power and she puts it to excellent use. She can also talk to trees if in a pickle to help her, and Terra talks through the trees to help guide Noll.
Characters and ideas associated with Eco Protection Squad and the Eco Squashers copyright to Cathy Mears-Martin