Episode 53 - Mya-Rose Craig - Birdgirl - We have a dream

“What I'd say is for people my age it’s totally about intersectionality and recognising that to fix one thing, we need to fix various other things as well. One thing I really noticed while writing ‘We have a dream’ was how young so many of the people were when they started, it isn’t teenagers, it’s young children; seven, eight, nine year olds taking it upon themselves to make things better because they were seeing a failure from generations before them. I think while in some ways it’s incredibly inspiring to see people feeling capable to go out and change the world like that, in some ways I think it’s incredibly sad that kids feel the need.”

Mya Rose Craig AKA Birdgirl is a racial equality & climate and environmental campaigner and activist. Nineteen and British-Bangladeshi, she’s the youngest British person to be awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science for fighting for equal access to nature and ethnic diversity in the environmental sector.
As her name suggests, she’s a passionate birdwatcher, a speaker, once sharing a stage with Greta Thunberg, and the President of Black2Nature, a charity providing nature camps for teenagers introducing them to the natural world.

Listen to Dan and Mya-Rose discuss:

- From birding, blogging, to activism

- A childhood of ecological awareness

- Equity in the climate change movement and the challenges of modern colonialism

- Access to nature as a human right for all not just the privileged

- Black2Nature - A Visible Minority Ethnic led organisation to give access to VME communities who are excluded from the countryside

- ‘We Have A Dream’ a book to amplify the voice of thirty young indigenous people and people of colour protecting the planet

- Joy of watching under appreciated birds

- How capitalism has contributed to disconnecting and undervaluing the natural world

- Burnout, The Resilience Project and birding as meditation

- Hope for COP 26

- Activism. Fueled by my love for birds and the planet

Community and Links

Projects:

Black2Nature - https://www.birdgirluk.com/black2nature/
The Resilience Project - https://www.theresilienceproject.org.uk
Youth for our Panet - https://youthforourplanet.com

People:
Greta Thunberg

Books/Films/Talks:

We Have A Dream - https://www.birdgirluk.com/shop/
My Octopus Teacher - https://www.netflix.com/title/81045007
Youth Strike 4 Climate Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLxyfpYr8mw

Places:

Bristol
Bangladesh

Connect:

https://www.birdgirluk.com
@birdgirluk

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Host: Dan Burgess @dan__burgess
Edit: Charlie Shread
Shownotes: Vicki Turner
Music: Escape Goat by Soren Lorenson
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