Climate Activist Interviews #2: Grace Maddrell

This is the second week of a series on this blog where I interview other climate activists. I hope these interviews help connect climate activists around the world, boost the good work they're doing, and give potential activists ideas and encouragement for action they could take to fight the climate crisis!

Today's interviewee is Grace Maddrell, a weekly climate striker and Extinction Rebellion activist in Frome, England. She strikes on weekdays for the burning Congo rainforest, and on weekends with Fridays For Future. You can follow her on Twitter at @GraceElm and join her strikes at the Frome Town Hall in Somerset!

Tell me a bit about you - where are you from, what age are you, and what do you do (climate-related and otherwise)?

I'm from England. I was born in Somerset and have lived in the South West of England my whole life. I'm 14 years and 3 months old. 

What has your experience of climate activism been like so far?

Most of the actions I have done have helped to give me hope and make me see that I'm not alone. Being an activist can be hard and stressful and I often feel under acknowledged but I also feel that I am part of this amazing activist family. 

How did you get into environmental activism?

Now that's a boring story! I just heard through classmates the idea that we might go on a school strike back in March, started to think about it more, and emotionally woke up, especially after watching videos of Greta Thunberg. 

What have you learned through your activism?

I've learnt some climate science and stuff about the power of a movement. I've learnt how people working for the same goals feel like family. I've learnt chants and slogans and how to be confident speaking in public. I've done media training and heard scientists talk. A whole bunch of stuff really! 

What are your goals for 2020 for climate action in the UK?

I want our Govt to tell the truth to the people, and commit to carbon zero by 2025. To

consider the aspect of equity in decision making and to form a citizen's assembly and be led by their decisions. Fracking needs to be totally banned, and many things need to be reformed.  I don't have all the answers, so mostly I want the government to listen to the scientists and act on what they say.

What’s something or someone you think more people should know about? 

The carbon budget. We have less than 350 gigatonnes left to emit to have a 67% chance of staying below 1.5°C, the best odds given by the IPCC. With current emissions levels, this will be gone in under 8.5 years. Most people don't even know this exists. 

Also that the people in the global south are already massively suffering the effects of climate breakdown. 

What frustrates you?

Lack of action. Period. Just lack of action and pig-headed denial by many politicians.

What gives you hope and keeps you going?

The amount of people who have joined this movement in such a short time. More than 7 million people joined the strikes on September 20th and 27th.

How can people join or support your activism? 

They can join strikes and XR actions. They can join me outside Frome Town Hall, Somerset, between Monday and Thursday each week to strike for the Congo rainforest, and on Fridays in Bath or Bristol to strike for Fridays For Future. They can join me at weekends in other parts of Frome. They can join XR and other climate action groups, donate, sign petitions, share this stuff on social media and educate others about it. They can use their talents for the cause, e.g. by making a film or writing an article about it. There are so many things. 

Anything coming up we should know about?

Well, the strikes I mentioned on my previous answer aren't gonna stop anytime soon. And In late 2020 the climate summit COP26 will be held in Glasgow.

Do you have any advice for fellow or potential climate activists?

Stay strong. We are with you. Stay non violent. 

It can be hard, but remember that you can tell the coming generations that you did everything you could for them. 

Is there anything you’d like to add that I haven’t mentioned? 

Africa is suffering, as is much of the global south. We need to talk about this and not just about disasters in more privileged places. And we need to platform indigenous voices and the voices of people of colour in this fight, and be led by them to a better world. 

Thank you so much, Grace, for your time and your action!

And to those reading this: Happy #FridaysForFuture! For next Friday, find your local strike point, or start one, and join us!

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Answers in these interviews are edited for formatting/grammar/spelling and clarity.

Climate Activist Interviews #1: Anna Kernahan

Today is the first day of a new series on this blog where I interview other climate activists. I hope these interviews help connect climate activists around the world, boost the good work they're doing, and give potential activists ideas and encouragement for action they could take to fight the climate crisis!

Today's interviewee is Anna Kernahan, who founded Fridays for Future Belfast and is the Social Media Coordinator for the UK school strikes for climate organization. You can find her on Twitter @AnnaKernahan and on her blog at annakernahan.wordpress.com, and if you're near Belfast you can join her each Friday in Cornmarket in Belfast city centre!


Tell me a bit about you - where are you from, what age are you, and what do you do (climate-related and otherwise)?

I’m from Belfast in Northern Ireland and I’m 17 years old. I am a climate striker with NISCN, which is the Northern Irish branch of UKSCN, the national social media coordinator for UKSCN and youthstrike4climate, and I’m the founder of FridaysForFuture belfast where I’m the only weekly striker in my country so far. Otherwise, I’m an A level student studying Technology and Design, English literature and Biology. 

How did you get into climate activism?

I got into climate activism by hearing about Greta Thunberg through the news and word of mouth and wanted to find out more, so I did research by reading things such as the IPCC special report on climate change etc. Once I fully understood the science and the severity of the crisis I felt like I needed to do something about it. Since I am too young to vote I turned to the next best thing — protesting to raise enough awareness so as adults would vote for our future. I then turned up at a climate strike and was hooked. 

How did you go about starting Fridays For Future Belfast? 

It’s pretty straightforward to be honest. I just created a social media account called fridaysforfuturebelfast with the help of my friend Sam. Then, I made a sign out of some cardboard scraps I found in the recycling bin in my kitchen, and wrote on it with a black marker. After that, I just got the bus to city centre Belfast, sat myself down on the stone slab making up the base of the spirit of Belfast Statue in Cornmarket and read a book. It hasn’t changed much since except it’s four months on, I’m onto a different book and my sign has progressed to wood. 

You were part of a Greta Thunberg book-reading event at Waterstones Belfast. How was that set up, and what was the experience like?

It was set up by the NI Human Rights Festival to celebrate how women have been taking the lead in climate activism via the launch of Greta Thunberg’s updated book ‘No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference.’ The experience was very empowering as I got to hear other young people from across the country even coming from as far west as Derry talk about their experiences with activism. It was also a good opportunity to talk with them in person and meet face to face as a lot of them I knew from organising on group chats and slack groups. 

What have you learned through your activism?

Many things. I’d say I’ve learnt more in the days I’ve striked from school than I would have in the lessons I’ve missed, as you can always write up notes later on but you can’t redo experiences. I’ve learnt a lot about myself and being an adult because usually at events or meetings you’re one of the only young people there and so you are forced to talk more maturely than you feel, reporters and presenters expect you to be as educated as the scientists and politicians talk to you like you’re experts in law. The adults seem to not notice the fact that we are youth strikers. This isn’t our day job; we have to go to school the next day. Furthermore, I’ve learnt many valuable and unique but transferable skills such as communication when networking with people and leadership skills when coordinating social media volunteers for UKSCN. Finally, the politicians aren’t as confident in person as you’d think they’d be when they aren’t hiding behind a prepared speech or a prewritten interview. They are actually scared by a bunch of kids. 

What are your goals for 2020 for climate action in Ireland and/or the UK?

The dream is for them to have it enshrined in law that our emissions must be at net zero by 2030. In addition, for actions to begin to be carried out to achieve this. Currently I don’t see this as realistic by 2020 but I’m remaining hopeful. As the government in Northern Ireland has collapsed we couldn’t do this even if we wanted to. However, Belfast city council have declared a climate emergency and set up a climate change working group so the motivation is there, we just have no government to implement it in. In terms of Westminster, that’s a whole other story due to the Conservatives pledging to be carbon neutral by the sloth’s pace of 2050. 

What would you consider your successes and disappointments so far?

Successes: 

• the Lord Mayor of Belfast coming to the global strike in September and announcing to the crowd that a climate emergency would be debated because of us standing there today. We showed him what democracy looks like. And he acted. 
• A climate emergency being declared in Belfast city council just two weeks later. 
• The four month anniversary of my solo strike being this Friday.

Disappointments: 

• it’s been over 1050 days since we’ve had a functioning government and nobody has done anything about it. 
• It’s been three months since a climate emergency was declared and nothing has been done about it. 

What's something or someone you think more people should know about? 

People-wise: Grace Elm, Vanessa Nakate, Saoi O' Connor, Xiye Bastida, Isabelle Axelsson, Jessie Nicholls.

What frustrates you?

Whenever I’m at a strike and someone tells me that I should go back to school. They’re right. I should. I shouldn’t have to sacrifice my education and be the adult because the people in power are too immature to do so. But I have no choice because I’m not allowed to vote in the decisions that will affect my future. 

What gives you hope and keeps you going?

The people. The friends I have made and the kindness of the human spirit that I see. People handing out umbrellas out of their own pocket in the rain and offering to buy hot chocolate on the colder strikes. The people who aren’t responsible for the climate crisis but still try and clean up the mess anyway because they care about the living conditions of our children. 

How can people join or support your activism? 

By joining me at the strike or sharing my posts on social media to help me raise awareness. 

Do you have any advice for fellow or potential climate activists?

For fellow activists, it’s very easy to get caught up in the craziness that is activism — going straight from a full day at school, to a TV studio then straight on to an art meeting to make signs before collapsing on your bed and realising you forgot to do your English homework. You decide to get up early to do it but you realise you’ve already set your alarm early so as you can draft a letter to politicians urging them to act. It can be very overwhelming and the general public don’t realise how much work actually goes into it but just remember that it’s ok to say no. You don’t have to go to every zoom meeting, interview, strike and panel because soon you’ll burn out and will not be able to to any of it. Your health should always take priority. 

For potential activists, don’t let the hard work put you off. It’s honestly great fun too. You make the best of friends because you all share one common interest- saving the world. You get to chant, sing and dance at strikes, you get unique experiences and skills. And the best part is that it’s completely voluntary so there’s no commitment or pressure to stay at all but we all still do it for a reason. 

Thank you so much for your time and your action!

And to those reading this: Happy #FridaysForFuture! I'm heading off to strike in Dublin now — find your local strike point, or start one, and join us!

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Answers in these interviews are edited for formatting/grammar/spelling and clarity.

Recap: October 2019

Finally posting this! Have waited ages because I never got around to describing the London trip, but just going to go ahead with it at this point.

October was busy but cool, with three of its four Saturdays filled by fun extracurriculars. The highlight was probably going to London for the Laidlaw Conference, and the lowlight slogging through the lit review that turned out to be a lot less fun than it appeared.

Laidlaw Scholarship

This month was very busy with Laidlaw events, and quite enjoyable.

On October 5th, we had our final Leadership Day, which involved a panel from the Spunout founder and a community leader, a workshop on emotional intelligence, and a debate. Our team had to propose that disruption is a force for good in the world, so we talked about political revolution, entrepreneurship and scientific progress. I was concerned the other team would bring up the very valid counterpoint that human expansion has been terrible for the rest of life, but instead they did something very entertaining: each brought up a laptop and a book and read out quotes from them. The books were The Power of Now and the Bhagavad Gita and their point was that we can't know what good is, shouldn't presume we can, and shouldn't attempt to do anything in the world but instead be detached from it. So that was interesting.

The next weekend, we went to London for the Laidlaw Conference in UCL. There were some good talks and a lot of fairly fun socializing. Also, we were on our way to the pub but Extinction Rebellion were blocking the road so we joined in, and then a load of police surrounded us with more arriving all the time. It was bizarre - we were just singing in the street but they seemed to feel the need to bring out every policeman in existence. 

Finally, a week and a half later, we had our Laidlaw graduation in the East Dining Hall, then went out. We first went to someone's apartment for a while, where I got to chat to one of the scholars I hadn't gotten to know well before, and met my friend's brother who works in sales. We were both interested to talk to each other because we do such different things.

Schols
I talked to a girl I know from school about preparing for Schols, and had the first meeting with the Schols Accessibility subcommittee.

Writing
I wrote the second draft of my novel over the month from mid-September to mid-October:

Then had the rest of October to prep for first-drafting my new novel for NaNoWriMo (not that I got much done because of the bloody lit review).

College

I can't believe this is the year I'm placing less emphasis on college! Anyway, in college in October I had lectures on:

• Molecular Evolution II
• Human Evolutionary Genetics
• Bacterial Molecular Genetics
• Principles of Genetics
• Plant Developmental Genetics
• Prion Diseases
• Genetics & Immunology of Neural Diseases
• Gene Therapy & Transgenic Animals
• Stem Cells

My favourite was Molecular Evolution, of course, but Plant Dev and Stem Cells are cool too. 

There is an utterly horrific amount of animal abuse in science, though, and our new block of lectures reminds me of that every day. 

I wrote up lectures decently for the first half of October, getting the courses from the first block (Mol Evol, Human Evolution, Bacterial) fully written up by early November, but I have not studied the current courses well. I spent the second half of October working intensively on my lit review titled 'Horse Genomics and Origins', which sadly meant I got no break in Reading Week (well, I took one day off once I finished it, the Bank Holiday, but sure that's less than even a weekend). Perhaps the lesson is that spontaneity is not actually necessarily good, and that what sounds like a fun project ('horsies!') may not be so you should just stick with your original plan (machine learning in genomics) instead?

Research

I've been working on the project I spent ten weeks on during my internship in America. While I have a lot to do, it feels good to be back working on it and talking to my supervisor about it rather than avoiding it! 

Climate & Activism

By the end of October, I reached Week 6 of weekly climate striking (#FridaysForFuture) on Fridays outside the Dail.

I also became a Youth Advisor for GOAL and attended the first of three workshops there all day on Saturday 26 October.

Other Extracurriculars & Public Speaking

I did two talks for Netsoc about data analysis and visualisation in R, and as Secretary have been doing the usual minuting/emailing stuff.

Socialising
GenSoc
family