The pea-green playing field at Visy Park seemed like the right place to promote World Environment Day - and so it was that Carlton Captain Chris Judd and Federal Minister for Climate and Water Change Senator Penny Wong today (Thursday) came together to push the noble global cause.

As Carlton footballers Dennis Armfield, David Ellard, Michael Jamison and Chris Yarran put a group of Visy Enviromaniacs (specifically the grade six students of Boronia Heights) through their paces in a major kids clinic nearby, the Captain and the Minister espoused the cause in the lead-up to the event, which co-incides with the Blues’ Green Game against Melbourne at the MCG.

“I’m very pleased to be here today with Chris, in the week of the Green Game between Carlton and Melbourne, in which fans will be encouraged to make pledges as an effort to make an awareness of the issue of climate change,” Senator Wong said.

“Carlton and the AFL has been doing a lot of good work on this issue. We’ve got a partnership with the AFL where we encourage footy clubs around Australia to become greener, and to try and help people become a little bit more environmentally-friendly, whether it’s to use a bit less water, less energy, or to recycle more . . . ”

Senator Wong said that whilst the issue of climate change was a major worldwide issue, it also required a grass roots perspective “and there’s not much that’s more grass roots than footy”.

Judd, who is also a Visy Environment Ambassador, said that the Carlton players, to a man, were “really excited to be involved with Visy and the Green Game this week”.

“Obviously Saturday marks the day of World Environment Day and it’s obviously great that the Carlton Football Club can join forces with Visy and promote environmental issues, promote ways that people can reduce their carbon footprint, and obviously encourage recycling,” Judd said.

The Carlton-Melbourne Green Game serves as a fitting finale to a week of sustained activities involving the Blues, which began with the launch of Judd’s video pledge for a better world.

Launched on Monday, the video, which also features Carlton President Stephen Kernahan, Coach Brett Ratten and a number of Carlton senior players and celebrities, together with Visy Chief Anthony Pratt - features on the Carlton, AFL and Herald Sun websites, and will also screen on the MCG’s scoreboard during the Green Game.