by Jethro Gauld
My sister recently sent me a poster with the following quote on it “No one expects you to save the world, if they did you would have been born with a cape and tights” she worries that I try to do too much and that I should sometimes force myself to take a break. She has a point, alongside two jobs, volunteering, courses to help me toward attaining this myth I’ve heard about of a paid ecology job and climate campaigning the days, weeks and months soon whizz by and it can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. If you spread yourself too thinly you won’t get much done other than knackering yourself and that’s in no one’s interest. After all the NHS is already under enough strain without me being added to the pile.
That said; all this stuff gives me energy. If I stop I feel lethargic and begin to lose touch with the things which matter to me. What I have learnt though is to know when to say enough is enough and not feel guilty about giving myself some rest. I’ve found that this is usually well correlated with when or if things begin to feel more like a chore than something you really want to do. It is ok to sometimes sit back and take stock of your priorities and plan what you want to do next and let someone else take up the slack (at least for a little while). In fact this is really important for effective climate campaigning, to build a movement you need others who are willing to take on some responsibility. They don’t have to commit forever but should be prepared to see something through. Recognising different people’s strengths and where you can learn from each other also makes the whole process more enjoyable.
The People’s Climate March in September was a fantastic example of this working on a global scale, it all started off with a few emails sent by Avaaz, 350.org and other organisations to people to allow people to link up in the areas they lived. This planted the seeds for a grassroots movement that is still active today. In Edinburgh we started off with a core team of about 12 people with a number of others helping out along the way. Some were experts in keeping people motivated and their energy up, others were great at coming up with slogans and designs, some were brilliant organisers and others in the group were just really good at talking about what they knew. After such a big success, 2,700 people marched in Edinburgh and millions marched globally it was clear that we should keep the momentum going.
We were aware that we all had lives outside of climate campaigning and that our role was not to start another climate group in Edinburgh as there are already quite a few working on various climate issues. So after the march we regrouped, decided whether to continue the people’s climate movement in Edinburgh, what our role would be and set ourselves some achievable goals. We decided that our role was essentially to keep the energy surrounding climate issues alive by organising a few big events throughout the year, that we could act as a broad banner for all groups in Edinburgh working on climate change to rally behind and help promote the activity of these groups so people can get involved.
2015 is a big year for climate change, some would call it make or break but whatever happens at the UNFCCC negotiations this year we need grassroots movements working to future proof our communities. The next big event on the calendar will be in Edinburgh on Saturday May 23rd. There will be a People’s Climate Assembly designed to inform inspire and equip attendees with the tools and knowledge to organise and act on the climate change issues that they are passionate about. For more information please contact peoplesclimateedinburgh@gmail.com. There is also a ‘For the Love of..’ demonstration at the Scottish Parliament on the 27th of May organised by Friends of the Earth to remind MSP’s why people care about climate change and that it needs to be high up the political agenda.
We are also organising a family friendly climate rally in late June to give our recently elected politicians something to think about and will also be promoting the work of local groups like friends of the earth in their work with Edinburgh council, the divestment movement to move money away from fossil fuels, world development movement and Greenpeace on their internationally focussed campaigns and the Transition Towns movement who are working on practical zero carbon solutions to Edinburgh’s energy, food and transport needs to name a few.
This movement is getting big. We have the potential to make a real difference. We love using our spare time to doing this but now what we need you to help us out and if you fancy it maybe take up the reigns for a wee while.
Jethro Gauld
MSc Ecosystem Services, BSc Ecology and Conservation
Leader of the Edinburgh RSPB Phoenix group for teenagers aged 11-16 interested in wildlife, GIS Technician for Scottish Water and active participant in the Edinburgh People’s Climate movement.
People's Climate March 