From Freelancer To Climate Campaigner
From Freelancer To Climate Campaigner is now live on the Hope. Act. Thrive podcast with our special guest, Claire Stephenson MCIPR.
Why you’ll want to listen to this episode.
“I felt as though I had a duty. I had a duty to my local community, to my children, to show them that it's okay to stand up for what is right,” says Claire Stephenson MCIPR, who went from a quiet life as a writer and mother, to a climate campaigner on the front line of a dangerous energy battle that no community wants to be in.
In this conversation we’ll talk about climate action, grassroots community action, fighting fracking, home education and helping children to connect with nature.
This episode is supported by Frack Free United, a network of residents, communities and campaign groups from across the UK who are coming together to protect our countryside and communities from the threat of fracking.
Why we were thrilled to chat with Claire.
Claire Stephenson lives on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire. In 2014, fracking company Cuadrilla lodged a planning application for hydraulic fracturing in rural Fylde, close to Claire’s home. In the months and years to follow, the local community banded together to battle against both the industry and the government in at times, a dirty and uneven PR campaign led by the fracking industry.
In this episode, Claire talks about the journey from a quiet life as a writer and mother, to a climate campaigner on the front line of a dangerous energy battle that no community wants to be in. The social and environmental justice implications from fracking in the UK reached costly court cases to fight for local democracy, and a history-making legal challenge against the government itself.
Words from Claire you won’t want to miss.
“I felt as though I had a duty. I had a duty to my local community, to my children, to show them that it's okay to stand up for what is right.”
“It was like this little spider web that reached out and connected with us. And that was when my definition of community changed. I realized that community isn't perhaps your closest neighbors on the street. Community can be anywhere that you are feeling connected to another person, another group, and it's global. And that was a reassuring point.”
“Selfcare has to be that priority. And knowing when to say, you know what, I can't do that today, I just need a day for myself.”
“My advice for anybody beginning campaigning, whether that's small or large. Establish your boundaries to start with and keep checking back in with yourself to make sure you're maintaining those boundaries. Because it's so important.”
“It's like these seeds have been sown and people are growing in their own little containers and actually if we can take those containers away and start intermingling and merging. We have something really special within communities.”
“The world needs strong leadership for climate and the environment because we are in a crisis right now. It's not coming up, it's here. And like my 16-year-old said, she said, this isn't a simulation, it's happening right now. We're in the here and now and we need the action to make the changes necessary so that our future is secure.”
“It's all about experiences and valuable memories, rather than the stuff that gives me hope for the future. And that's how we can help save that natural environment that we've got by reducing that kind of consumption.”
How can you listen?
Listen to this conversation on Apple, Google, or Spotify.
And if you just can’t get enough of us, do come hang out with us on on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. We share real tips for real parents, and help you to turn eco-anxiety and gloom into fun and playful action. Plus you’ll regularly see us make fools of ourselves on Instagram reels.
