Five Scottish Youth Activists you Need to Know
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Everyone's heard of Greta Thunberg — and if you haven't, you must be living under a rock. But have you heard of Holly Gillibrand, Lily Henderson, Erin Mary Fowler, Dylan Hamilton and Anna Brown?
These might only be generic names to you just now, but soon, you'll learn that they belong to five youth activists that are working tirelessly to tackle climate change, starting right here in Scotland.
Holly Gillibrand, 16, Highlands
"I would like other young people to know that they can also do this. Everyone, no matter what their age or where they are from, has the power to make an enormous difference. But our leaders are pointing a gun at the planet, and we can't turn away any longer. We all need to join together to deflect the earth-shattering bullet." – (Holly Gillibrand, Stride Magazine)
Winner of the Young Scot Environment Award and the Young Scot of the Year 2020, Holly Gillibrand is a name to note. She has also won the 2019 Young Scotswoman of the Year; Nature of Scot's Political Advocate of the Year 2019; Rotary Club's Endeavour Award 2019; and she was named one of the 30 inspiring women on "BBCs Woman's Hour Power List 2020".
Gillibrand works closely with 'Fridays for Future Scotland' and has been striking for one hour every Friday since she was 13; she has now taken part in well over 100 strikes. She also assists as a youth advisor for 'Heal Rewilding', who work to return land to nature.
For someone so young, Gillibrand has achieved a lot in the last few years. From striking outside parliament and meeting notable leaders (including Nicola Sturgeon and Jeremy Corbyn) to speaking at numerous climate events and conferences (including at the Daily Mirror’s Climate and Ecological Crisis panel and the 2020 Highland Climate Change Conference) — Holly Gillibrand is one to watch over the next few years.
Lily Henderson, 17, Inverness
"I’m applying for uni, I’m trying to sort my life out, and I’ve got this overarching thought in the back of my mind: what about climate change?” —(Lily Henderson, the Scotsman)
Lily Henderson from Inverness has been campaigning and attending climate strikes all over Scotland for years, which says a lot considering she's only 17. She works closely with 'Friday's for Future Scotland' and is a part of 'Teach the Future Scotland', a student-led climate campaign.
Henderson's climate work has allowed her to speak to some notable figures including, John Swinney, the former Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Education and Deputy First Minister of Scotland. That was particularly significant for Henderson, who firmly believes schools should teach students about the climate crisis.
Similarly, Henderson also shows a great keenness to use her platform to reach a wider audience and educate others on the climate crisis. She has spoken at many events, including the upcoming webinar "How can we support young people in the climate action movement?" for The Educational Institute of Scotland on the 27th of October.
Erin Fowler, 23,Perth
“The climate crisis and I also refer to the ecological crisis when I say this, is so important because it threatens the lives of millions of species, including plants, animals and humans. It brings with it unprecedented challenges for our home. It will, and it already is, disproportionately impacting marginalised communities, such as ethnic minorities, women, and the working class, and these same communities are often excluded from climate action efforts, and so, they remain the most vulnerable.” — (Erin Mary Fowler, to Kate Stevenson at City Live)
Erin Fowler is a passionate environmental geographer and is currently an Earth Future MSc Student at the University of Glasgow. Her MSc thesis, titled 'Embedding Gender Justice in Climate Action: An Intersectional Feminist Analysis of Climate Action in Edinburgh and Glasgow', looks at how women are excluded from climate action and how women can reshape and reclaim climate action.
Fowler was formerly the sub-editor of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s 'Young Geographer' magazine, an intern with Smith Scott Mullan Associates, where she supported a senior architect in advising a local authority on how to move towards net-zero carbon, and currently works at the University of Glasgow, where she assists a leading professor in her work around climate adaption in cities and coasts.
Fowler also went on a three-month-long science research trip to Trinidad and Tobago, where she went to a key leatherback turtle nesting site. Sir David Attenborough has also visited the site, and it was previously featured on BBC’s Blue Planet II series. She learnt about the climate dangers that threaten the turtles, like plastic pollution and looks back upon this experience to motivate herself and her climate work.
To top all of this off, Fowler is also a part of 'Teach the Future Scotland', where she helps spread climate change awareness and advocates to repurpose the education system to better teach about the climate crisis.
Dylan Hamilton, 17, Linlithgow
"We have to start by fully acknowledging that the climate crisis affects every section of society. I'm not an expert, I'm 17, so I can't say exactly what should be done, which is why I would suggest the government listen to the scientists, the engineers, the conservationists and more. The solutions are all here with people ready to implement them; we don't need to come up with futuristic technologies." — (Dylan Hamilton, the Herald Scotland)
Dylan Hamilton might be young, but that certainly hasn't stopped him. At only 17, he has accomplished a lot. He has been striking from school since he was 14, helped to organise some of the country's largest climate protests (one strike saw over 40,000 protesters attend) with 'Fridays for Future Scotland', attended COP25 in Madrid and represented the UK in the Youth4Climate pre-COP event in Milan.
Hamilton speaks at events to anyone who will listen. Once, even in front of 20,000 people at a climate protest in Edinburgh.
His exceptional work was recognised when he won the Sunday Mail Young Scot 2020 award last year. Great Thunberg, the founder of 'Fridays for Future' and a climate activist, has also recognised his efforts on Twitter. She also stole his frog hat at the climate strike in Milan.
Anna Brown, 19, Glasgow
“With COP26 coming to Glasgow, Scotland and the UK as a whole will be on the world stage. The UK has a historic responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, and COP is our opportunity to show that we are taking the science seriously and addressing the global inequality that makes the climate crisis so devastating.” — (Anna Brown, The Scotsman)
Anna Brown is a climate activist and student from Glasgow. She co-hosts 'The Climate Resilience Circle' for Glasgow, is a part of the 'Teach the Future Scotland' team, and is a member of 'Fridays For Future Scotland'.
Her work with The Climate Resilience Project helps other young people to build resilience, develop campaigning skills and give youth activists a safe space to share their thoughts and feelings. The project hopes to empower young people and provide them with a place to discuss their eco-anxiety, thoughts and feelings.
Brown has spent many days sitting on the steps outside Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and will continue to do so until counties around the world start to heed the crisis warning and make substantial changes.