Young voices. Big issues. Welcome to Youth Rising by NCS! The podcast for young people, made by young people. With multiple world governments declaring a climate emergency and COP26 engaging many in vital conversations, this episode feels particularly timely and important. We’re so excited about our guests this week, who are all responsible for doing incredible work in service of Mother Earth. Youth Rising team member Lottie kicks off the episode interviewing Ella and Amy Meek, founders of Kids Against Plastic. They chat about starting small, the devastating effect of single use plastics on the oceans and the value of litter picking!

We’re also joined by Dr Mya-Rose Craig aka Bird Girl UK, the prominent British Bangladeshi ornithologist, environmentalist, diversity activist as well as a writer, speaker and broadcaster. In February 2020, Dr Craig became the youngest person to be awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science D.S.c. h.c.aged just 18. She has spent seven years campaigning and founded the much-needed Black2Nature, an organisation which fights for equal access to nature for VME (Visible Minority Ethnic) people in a bid to combat racism within conservation. She tells host Muhsin about how green spaces improve our mental health, the anxiety that VME communities feel outside of cities and how racism intersects with climate activism.

Later we have an enlightening chat with Nicola Brown, a producer on the BBC’s Blue Planet II. Nicola has also worked on the BBC impact campaign Our Blue Planet as well as a BBC Earth VR series and BBC Earth’s original YouTube channel Earth Unplugged. At her current company Freeborne Impact, Nicola’s projects include work with Netflix and some exciting new work in the ocean space. Haleem and Nicola discuss the power of stories and how digital storytelling can have astonishing effects on the climate conversation.

Plus, a roundtable discussion with our Youth Rising team members. Pubudika, Paige and Sofie discuss how email subscriptions and fast fashion habits increase your carbon footprint. Meanwhile, Ellie at Greenpeace sounds the alarm for our generation - the planet won’t look like it does now when we’re our parents' age.

Why not try some of our guests’ suggestions? Organise a litter pick in your local area, lend your voice to bring about change on issues and, if you’re feeling climate anxiety, make like Mya and get out into nature - being in green spaces does wonders for our mental health and it’s really energising to be around other people who care about the planet.

Reading List:

The Go Giver by Bob Burg

The Is An Uprising by Mark Engler and Paul Engler

Working Hard, Hardly Working by Grace Beverly

I Quit Plastic by Kate Nelson

Follow us @ncs

Follow Dr Mya-Rose Craig @birdgirluk

Follow Amy and Ella @kidsagainstplastic

Follow Greenpeace @greenpeaceuk

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