I joined Our Bright Future through my project, Our Wild Coast in 2020. Over lockdown, the Our Bright Future youth forum had started a series of weekly online meetings where we would have discussions, plan campaigns, or take part in UpRising training. I grew up and now attend university in the corner of North Wales so being involved with a group of like-minded individuals from all over the UK is really amazing. This is especially true when we have discussions about things like climate change and the ecological crisis. It’s reassuring to know that there are people as passionate as me nationwide, making a lot of our goals seem more achievable.
One of the aspects of nature and conservation that I’m particularly interested in is peatland and the restoration of this vital habitat. Through my involvement in the Our Bright Future youth forum I was offered the opportunity to take part in a WildLIVE event where they were going to be discussing this very topic. I spent a lot of time researching peatland in Wales and what work is being done to engage communities, particularly young people in the conservation of peat. On the night, I sat alongside experts in the field from around the UK and felt really honoured to be able to share my knowledge to my fellow panellists and the audience. This event threw me out of my comfort zone as I’m not usually one for public speaking. I am however really glad that I took up the opportunity as it boosted my confidence massively. I have gone on to put myself out there more in my own project and had the chance to present a few sections of the Our Bright Future Annual Celebration event during the summer of 2021.
I am still part of the Our Bright Future youth forum, almost a year on and it’s been great welcoming our new members. I’m really excited to work towards our new goals and see what we can achieve beyond the Our Bright Future project.