Surrey Wildlife Trust is welcoming young people inspired by Greta Thunberg and the Youth Strike for Climate Action to a free webinar on 24th March 2021 at 6-8:30pm. The Youth Action for Nature webinar will highlight the intrinsic links between climate change and natural ecosystems, giving secondary school and university students the knowledge and confidence to speak up for nature.
Cel Spellman, actor and presenter for BBC Radio 1, ambassador for the Wildlife Trusts and ardent advocate for nature will open the event. He will be followed by the chief executive of 46 Wildlife Trusts across the UK, Craig Bennett, who will reveal the current state of nature and share his top tips for campaigning and mobilising communities to take action.
MP for East Surrey, Claire Coutinho, will discuss effective lobbying of MPs, and the passionate environmentalist and social influencer, Sustainable Stephanie, will show how to make a difference for nature through our everyday life choices.
Louise Shorthose, outdoor learning manager at Surrey Wildlife Trust, said: ‘This year sees two key international meetings, UN Convention on Biodiversity in May and the UN Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow in November, with the twin challenges of tackling both the climate change and ecological crises. Never before has a more urgent call for action and the voices of young people been so important to this discussion.
‘We want to help young people find their voice and for decision makers to understand that our fate is linked to that of the natural world. Well managed biodiversity is a key solution to a healthy climate. Nature provides many of the answers to the health, economic and climate crises, and everyone is needed in the new global push to protect nature.’
Surrey Wildlife Trust wants to show young people how they can make a difference, restore and protect nature on the ground through conservation projects and mitigate the impacts of a changing climate. Other speakers at the webinar include Sarah Jane Chimbwandira, chief executive of the Surrey Wildlife Trust, and Katy Fielding, conservation project manager at the Trust, who will be launching a competition to inspire students to use their creativity to take action for nature.
Thanks to the support of the Postcode lottery and the Surrey Hills Society, Surrey students will have the opportunity to apply for a small grant to help fund their own wildlife habitat creation projects in their school grounds or local community. Students will also be hearing about other successful youth action projects and will have an opportunity to ask the panel questions and identify the help they need or the perceived barriers to taking action.