CAUSES
We live in a bountiful world in which nature provides us with everything we need to thrive and be happy. Unfortunately, we also live in a world where those with the most responsibility take action to increase their power and wealth at the expense of our health, freedom and future. And so it is left to the people to organise themselves into grassroots movements, generously giving their time and energy for the good of us all.
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Each of us has a voice, and history shows us that it’s only when people make their voices heard that progress is made. If we don’t speak up, then the ruling powers don't see a problem and think they can keep getting away with it. It’s clear to see that the only way that anything will be done about the issues that affect us all is from citizen participation of you and me.
With that in mind, here is a non-exhaustive selection of some of the causes that I support, all doing great work to restore harmony between people and nature for the benefit of us all. If you feel pissed off about the state of our world and feel you would like to take action, but are not sure where to start, below are some good ideas that I recommend.
EXTINCTION REBELLION
WHAT THEY DO
An international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse. These guys are probably the biggest movement for inspiring citizen-led action against climate change. Much of their work revolves around drawing attention to these issues that affect us all: this has involved creating disruption by throwing paint on things and glueing themselves to other things, but as of 2023 they have announced a break from this successful but publicly-polarising strategy to focus on growing the amount of people willing to support their cause.
WHY I SUPPORT THEM
Right now it seems they are our best hope for expressing our dissatisfaction that climate change is going to ruin all of our lives. Their goal is to try and get as many people to show their support, whether turning up at a protest or donating money. It is essential we show the government that ‘public opinion’ doesn’t sit exclusively with climate change deniers, but with people who are angry and scared and want to follow the science to make sure there is a future for our children.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
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Attend a protest - they hope to attract 100,000 people to ‘The Big One’ in April 2023
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Join a group local to you to find out how you can make a difference in your community
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Volunteer with their centralised work, anything from administration to answering phones
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Donate money - if you’re not ready to publicly support but would still like to help
RIGHT TO ROAM
WHAT THEY DO
A growing alliance of ramblers, wild swimmers, paddle-boarders, kayakers, authors, artists and activists - campaigning so that millions more people in England can have easy access to open space, and the physical, mental and spiritual health benefits that it brings.
They are standing up for our right to roam: an ancient custom that allows anyone to wander in open countryside, whether the land is privately or publicly owned. This right already exists in Scotland, but not in England, where we have been pressed into believing that peculiarly English stipulation of property: the right to exclude. As a result, 92% of the countryside and 97% of rivers are off limits to the public, and wild camping is now entirely banned. The guys at Right to Roam help us to navigate this by making clear what is legal, what is fair, and organising mass trespasses to pull back the veil on the 92% of England that rich landowners don’t want us to see.
WHY I SUPPORT THEM
It is clear that we all need access to nature more than ever. We shouldn't settle for what is currently ‘permitted’: not everyone can afford train tickets or petrol money to visit their closest national park, while the land in between is ‘owned’ by aristocrats who tell us peasants to keep out. It may seem like we are trespassing on someone else’s land, but in reality this is our land that some toffs arbitrarily and unfairly decided to claim hundreds of years ago. We need access to nature all over the country and this thoroughly good bunch are showing us the way to do it with their vision of a ‘New English Countryside’.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
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Follow their social media for updates of their next movements or sign up online for more info
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Attend a trespass - although I am a keen solo trespasser, I’ve not yet been to a mass trespass, but they look absolutely mental - on Dartmoor they got 3000 people to raise the spirit of an ancient wilderness god to defend the rights of commoners - which is my sort of thing. So I’m looking forward to going to one ASAP!
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Donate - this supports anything from coach travel to increase attendance, to workshops to educate people on our rights
TRASH FREE TRAILS
WHAT THEY DO
They are passionate about reducing littering: their aim is “to reduce single-use pollution on our trails and wild places by 75% by 2025 and reconnect people with nature through purposeful adventure.” But they’re more than just litter-pickers. They encourage people like you and me to pick up litter whenever we go out into nature, not only to help the environment but to help us connect to it. They provide all kinds of resources to help us do it.
WHY I SUPPORT THEM
A common theme is that people shouldn’t have access to nature because they leave litter. This handily suits the interests of those that are the real rubbishers of our environment.
In the words of Jon Moses: “We see the crisp packet and are blind to the overgrazed field stripped of its wildlife-friendly riparian buffers. We shake our fists at bored teenagers and let the industrial polluters off the hook because one is good honest country work and the other a symbol of outsiders.” Trash Free Trails work to reverse that mindset: they encourage us to remove litter as a way of reclaiming our right to be connected with the land. I particularly like that one of their core values is to be always positive and solution focused: never using blame, shame, guilt or aggression as a tactic. Because if we want to stop people littering then it’d help to be nice and understanding towards them, even if it is naturally tempting to do the opposite!
HOW YOU CAN HELP
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Pick up some litter the next time you go for a walk. You can plan to do this by taking a rubbish bag, some gloves or whatever you need. It’s a strange but very fulfilling challenge to see how much crap you can collect on your adventures: it earns you good karma, makes the environment more healthy, and sets an example to others.
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Share on social media to encourage others to do the same
SURFERS AGAINST SEWAGE
WHAT THEY DO
A grassroots community dedicated to the protection of oceans, waves, beaches, rivers and wildlife. They’re not just surfers and it’s not just sewage: they campaign against all pollution (including plastics) of UK waterways, including rivers as well as coastlines. They organise others to take action to clean up the environment, from beach cleans to reporting polluted water, which they track and display via an incredibly useful interactive map. They also work to prevent pollution at the source: whether raising awareness of the plaguing issues or campaigning for environmentally friendly policies.
WHY I SUPPORT THEM
These guys are filling in the gaps left by government and water companies - they are taking it on themselves to make our water safe again. They are one of the main sources of pressure to address the criminal ignorance that pumps sewage into our waterways while pumping our money into the pockets of foreign investors. They provide resources so that we can check if we’re going to get sick before getting in the water, which we have a timeless right to enjoy. The fact that we have to check at all shows the ridiculous state our society is in today, and why this work is so important.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
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Join a beach clean
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Submit information to help them track pollution
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Make some noise to show you too are pissed off about our polluted seas and rivers
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Donate if you’d prefer to help others from afar
DON'T LOSE YOUR WAY
WHAT THEY DO
This team of stalwart volunteers, working with the Ramblers walking charity, have searched every kilometre of England and Wales and found over 49,000 miles of paths that could be lost forever, unless we come together to save them. In 2018 the government declared that by 2026, all unused footpaths would automatically become part of private land. By comparing old historical maps with modern OS maps, they have created an insanely detailed online map that shows all the potential footpaths that may need saving - each path will need an individual application made to stop it being lost, including evidence to show it was used historically. This is why they need the help of more volunteers to help prioritise which ones need saving most urgently.
WHY I SUPPORT THEM
Here’s another example of something we take for granted but will miss when it’s gone.To the surprise of no-one, the government are still trying to reduce public access to land in the favour of wealthy landowners. Thanks to the heroic efforts of the Ramblers and the DLYW volunteers, in 2022 the government promised to abolish the 2026 deadline - and then quietly backtracked in 2023 to scrap the rights after all. This work to reclaim our rightful access through the depths of the countryside is still as important as ever.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
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Sign up to the online map to see what footpaths near you are up for saving
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Volunteer online to identify the paths that most urgently need saving, so they can be reviewed and a case made for each one. Personally, in the spirit of our right to roam, I’m all for making a field trip to investigate the lost paths in person, to be absolutely sure of whether they are worth a volunteer’s time to save. And any excuse for a good adventure of course. But the crucial bit is the online logging of what you find!
