By Indiana Rivers
I first heard about Extinction Rebellion from a friend. She mentioned it was a new environmental non-violent movement aimed at bringing positive change for the planet and humanity. I had wanted to get more involved with environmental activism for a while so I thought I would head to one of Bath’s XR group demonstrations.
It was one of the group’s first demos and they were asking for Bath and North East Somerset Council to declare a climate emergency, outside the Guildhall. There weren’t many of us but it didn’t seem to matter. Our passion and drive was clear from the signs and leaflets we were handing out: ‘Be Scared, Get Mad, Do Something,’ ‘Climate Emergency- Act Now’. I have been to quite a few demonstrations like this but what I loved about this one was that it was a collective of people. The group isn’t run by a single entity, it’s a community effort driven by a desire to bring attention to the climate crisis.
I met a woman in her late fifties who was going on a meditation retreat in the Himalayas in a few weeks time and one of the coordinators, who’s day job was as a therapist. I was just another person who wanted to add my voice to the movement using peaceful strategies that engage and inspire. I’m a creative writing student at Bath Spa University, artist, musician, and I work as a student ambassador and green communicator at my uni. I’m highly passionate about environmental issues so knew I could bring my own voice to the cause. I just needed to
give it a chance. More recently, I took part in the #YouthStrike4Climate which Bath XR gladly promoted through their social media channels. There were hundreds of young people there and it was truly inspiring to see. Members of Bath XR were there too and it was incredible to come together and make some noise in the city of Bath. We marched through the centre, towards Kingsmead Square and back to the Guildhall. We were in it together and Extinction Rebellion was right at the heart.
That’s what Extinction Rebellion is made up of.
Community.
People from all walks of life coming together to stand up for the planet and all the other species we share it with. They want people from anywhere and everywhere to join them. It’s what the movement is all about.
Everyone has something to bring whether it’s writing, illustrating, singing, playing an instrument or even knitting!
Every movement requires creativity and people to make it effective. It needs passion but it also needs fun! We can’t hope to make a positive difference if we’re not having fun. It doesn’t have to be difficult and from what I’ve learned from these events, it isn’t. If we hold our passion in our hearts and keep in mind why we need to be one of those rebellious voices, we can have fun with other people who share that passion. From there, we might have a chance at saving our futures.
