Female German ship captain fights for the forests

Rackete poses in front of a blockade inside the Dannenroeder forest near Dannenrod, central Germany, in October. Photo: AFP

Eighteen months ago, German ship captain Carola Rackete was hailed a hero by refugee campaigners after she defied the authorities by steering a migrant rescue vessel into the port of Lampedusa, an island located in the Mediterranean sea.

Today, Rackete has swapped her captain’s hat for a set of yellow waterproofs as she wades through the mud in the Dannenrod forest in central Germany, surrounded by ancient oak trees.