Thank you for this! Voting in my particular area is so discouraging, but I keep plugging away at every election no matter how small. I will check out these links for how to help mobilize voters!
Aw thank you Lisa for hanging in there! I hear you, it’s tough when you’re discouraged by your district. Hope you find a good place to contribute your efforts. 💚
Hello! Great that you are back! I was surprised not to see any mention of indigenous communities role in conservation. Considering 80% of biodiversity is protected by indigenous communities I would have thought that empowerment would be one of the major levers.
Hi Andreas, thanks for writing! Absolutely, when you unpack how to achieve the “land conservation” action, a large fraction of the most important land for biodiversity is Indigenous; Indigenous rights are critical. I’ll try to write more about this soon!
Most of us really need to keep a balance between activist and other work to mitigate climate and biodiversity change. Some might be better off giving it all of their energy. I myself need walking in Nature, singing in a choir, visiting concerts, being in touch with friends and family to feel energized and continue my activist work. I´d rather be a halhearted activist than no activist at all. / Lotti R Fridays For Future Lund
I didn't know about the bird app and love the idea of keeping track of your hours outdoors! Downloaded the bird app and going to try out the coloring sheet :)
I totally agree with you about the need to recharge when engaging in sustainability work. This is again an urgent question for me right now. Recently it really hit me that people outside of this bubble may just not get the stress and anxiety that is always in the background (or even "in your face" perhaps, if you are working with sustainability questions directly in your everyday work) for us. A few years ago in a session with a psychologist I felt like I almost had to justify why I am having climate anxiety (that this is actually a legitimate response to whats going on, and not me making it into a bigger thing than it is...) So in this context I feel like talking about these struggles and raising awareness about it is in itself perhaps meaningful...! So thank you for writing about it!
Hi Sachiko, so glad to hear you find it helpful to share when we're struggling. It does help to know we're in good company right?! And to agree on the need for rest and recharge amidst this work. I've ended up using the app to track my hours outside, let me know how the coloring sheet goes! And enjoy Merlin- I've found it so fun and lovely to discover new feathered friends in my own backyard and beyond!
I find no need to be "ambivalent" about my activism, but maybe that's because I enjoy what I do more than anything else. In fact, climate change is for me a rare opportunity to change a culture while I improve my wellbeing.
Thank you for this! Voting in my particular area is so discouraging, but I keep plugging away at every election no matter how small. I will check out these links for how to help mobilize voters!
Aw thank you Lisa for hanging in there! I hear you, it’s tough when you’re discouraged by your district. Hope you find a good place to contribute your efforts. 💚
Hello! Great that you are back! I was surprised not to see any mention of indigenous communities role in conservation. Considering 80% of biodiversity is protected by indigenous communities I would have thought that empowerment would be one of the major levers.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2023/08/09/empowering-indigenous-peoples-to-protect-forests#:~:text=About%2036%25%20of%20remaining%20intact,those%20on%20non%2DIndigenous%20lands.
Hi Andreas, thanks for writing! Absolutely, when you unpack how to achieve the “land conservation” action, a large fraction of the most important land for biodiversity is Indigenous; Indigenous rights are critical. I’ll try to write more about this soon!
Cool to hear that it’s embedded within the conservation topic. Looking forward to learning more. Thanks!
Most of us really need to keep a balance between activist and other work to mitigate climate and biodiversity change. Some might be better off giving it all of their energy. I myself need walking in Nature, singing in a choir, visiting concerts, being in touch with friends and family to feel energized and continue my activist work. I´d rather be a halhearted activist than no activist at all. / Lotti R Fridays For Future Lund
Well said Lotti!
I didn't know about the bird app and love the idea of keeping track of your hours outdoors! Downloaded the bird app and going to try out the coloring sheet :)
I totally agree with you about the need to recharge when engaging in sustainability work. This is again an urgent question for me right now. Recently it really hit me that people outside of this bubble may just not get the stress and anxiety that is always in the background (or even "in your face" perhaps, if you are working with sustainability questions directly in your everyday work) for us. A few years ago in a session with a psychologist I felt like I almost had to justify why I am having climate anxiety (that this is actually a legitimate response to whats going on, and not me making it into a bigger thing than it is...) So in this context I feel like talking about these struggles and raising awareness about it is in itself perhaps meaningful...! So thank you for writing about it!
Hi Sachiko, so glad to hear you find it helpful to share when we're struggling. It does help to know we're in good company right?! And to agree on the need for rest and recharge amidst this work. I've ended up using the app to track my hours outside, let me know how the coloring sheet goes! And enjoy Merlin- I've found it so fun and lovely to discover new feathered friends in my own backyard and beyond!
Fabulous post! So information dense. We can optimise for both climate and biodiversity in one go. I wrote a post on some rules for reforestation based on a useful paper. https://predirections.substack.com/p/rules-for-reforestation
Thanks Jonathan! I’m going for dense with value but hopefully understandable. :) Thanks for reading and sharing your post!
Definitely understandable.
I find no need to be "ambivalent" about my activism, but maybe that's because I enjoy what I do more than anything else. In fact, climate change is for me a rare opportunity to change a culture while I improve my wellbeing.
So glad to hear this Meg! It’s wonderful when activism itself is a source of joy. 💚