On Friday 27th January, Belfast’s Window on Wildlife welcomed RSPB Youth Campaigners for their third Youth Get Together!
The meet up was a great opportunity for RSPB NI’s Youth Campaigners to connect with likeminded volunteers, get hands-on experience with conservation work, contribute to citizen science, receive campaigns training and develop their professional skills.
Campaigns and Communications Officer Ruby Free, who established and line manages the Youth Campaigner group, believes it is extremely important for young people to have a strong connection to nature, to campaign for it effectively and regularly.
“It is vital that young people can experience nature for themselves, to feel the mental health benefits it brings and to connect to the natural world, but also to know exactly what it is they are losing. To campaign for something, you have to love it, feel passionate about it and feel part of it.”
So, here’s what they got up to…
The Big Garden Birdwatch
After a brief briefing about the birds they may come across and a few cups of coffee to warm themselves up, the Youth Campaigners headed to the Harbour Meadows for a spot of birdwatching. Collecting data for RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. The group of 22 young people found a wide variety of species, from siskins to starlings and everything in between and tallied a total of 16 species in just one hour.
Among the Youth Campaigners, some were fully certified ‘bird nerds’ and some had never attempted birdwatching before – but it didn’t matter how much or how little anyone knew, it was about coming together to experience nature as a collective, to share knowledge and to feel part of something bigger.
Conservation work at the reserve
Following the birdwatch, the Youth Campaigners were split into two groups.Group one cleared some habitat allowing ground nesting bird species to take up residence in the Belfast Harbour Meadows and group two used the cleared materials to make bug hotels and bird nesting spots on the shores of Belfast WoW.
Group one donned their wellies and overalls for some glamorously muddy work with Warden James Weatherup, learning how RSPB uses machinery and often, hardcore man/woman power to create ideal habitats for nature’s recovery.
Group two gloved-up and gathered as many logs, sticks and stones as they could find, creating five individual nests, all ideal for different species. Once the group had finished their creations, they showcased them to each other, rating the bug and bird hotels as if it was a wildlife trip advisor site.
Not only did the group gain practical, hands-on conservation experience, they also got a taste of what it was like to make a first-hand positive impact for the local wildlife, contributing to a #NaturePositiveNI.
Here's what RSPB NI volunteer Dara thought: As a new volunteer with the RSPB Northern Ireland, I was thrilled to be invited along to the Youth Get Together. I had a fantastic day meeting some of the Youth Campaigners and other young people passionate about nature. It was also inspiring to hear from RSPB staff about their work and experiences, not just at Belfast’s WoW but at reserves like Rathlin Island too.
I loved beginning the morning with the Big Garden Birdwatch and was pleased to have spotted a robin, a firm favourite of mine. My favourite activity, though, was building ‘bug hotels’ in the woodland around the visitor centre. Splitting into four groups, we each took a share of some scrap wood and got to work. My group began by constructing a pyramid shape from the larger pieces of wood. Then, we strengthened the ‘walls’ with smaller twigs foraged from ground around us: a great lesson in using what you already have. As we were building, Ruby explained that our ‘hotel’ would be ideal for any coots that might wander up from the water. Without a sheltered hideaway like ours, I learned, they would just sit out, exposed and vulnerable to predators. With this in mind, we made sure to cover any remaining gaps with lots of leaves, completing the perfect cosy accommodation – surely worthy of a 5-star review from any visiting wildlife.
With all four constructions complete, each group presented their hotels, estate-agent-style, selling us on their unique merits – from the luxurious insulation of extensive leaf cover to the benefits of a minibeast bungalow. It was a fun way to end the activity and, as we broke for lunch, I felt a real boost from having spent an hour in the sunshine, doing my bit to save nature.
Lunch in the bird hide
While some sheltered away inside, a handful of volunteers ventured back out to the hides to see what they could find at lunch. The lapwings put on a show with their iridescent bodies in the afternoon sun while flocks of redshank pecked away along the shallow shoreline right in front of the hides.
Campaigns and communications training
“Be inspired – go inspire”, was the motto of the day, nicely rounded up by an hour of campaigns and communications training which showed the young people how to write, speak and take action for nature.
Showcasing Greta Thunberg's powerful, ‘you are never too small’ video and RSPB’s ‘there are so many ways to save nature’ film, the Youth Campaigners learned that there is no one way to make a difference in the nature and climate emergency, and that all of their actions, especially together can go on to make a huge difference in this world and in their local communities.
There was an emphasis on the ‘circle of action’, a five-step framework to empower others to campaign for nature and climate issues, a framework that those very volunteers had just experienced for themselves that day. This consists of:
After learning about this framework, Ruby tasked the volunteers to pair up and come up with their own campaign, using what they had learnt that day to aid its creation. It could be as broad or as specific as they wanted, but must have a:
One group made a ‘Save Our Hedges’ campaign, identifying a decline in hedgerows across Northern Ireland. Their strategy was to work with farmers to protect and restore hedges by helping them learn how to maintain a good hedge shape for nature. Their outcome was to see an increase in wildlife across Northern Ireland’s farming landscapes, bringing species such as hedgehogs and farmland birds back from the brink of local extinction.
This activity not only gave the young people a space to input their ideas and passions, but it also allowed them to develop key skills whilst having fun in a calm and relaxed environment. Some of the ideas (and illustrations) were so great that we said we’d consider them for future campaigns!
To end the day, the campaigners were reminded to pace themselves, avoiding burnout and eco-anxiety, by getting out into nature regularly and taking action with other likeminded people, adding their voice to environmental causes they care about.
Are you aged between 13-30?
Would you like to become a Youth Campaigner?
You can sign up here! Campaigner (Youth Campaigner, Northern Ireland) | RSPB Volunteering