Maligned to mainstream

‘‘I rather resent being called an environmentalist.

‘‘I am an ordinary Kiwi, hugely in love with my world and hugely concerned about it,’’ Mcewan said.

In a bid to stop ferries and ships polluting the air as they entered Picton harbour, Brent Yardley began lobbying for cleaner fuels in 2018.

‘‘I think anyone who puts their head above the parapet is liable to suffer criticism from all angles,’’ he said.

‘‘But you can’t dwell on that stuff. It just weighs you down too much.

‘‘It mostly stems from misunderstanding anyway, so you are better off just getting as much information out as you can.’’

But making progress took an ‘‘extraordinary amount of time and energy’’, he said.

‘‘I would have never believed how difficult it is to get anywhere until I was faced with it myself.’’

Extinction Rebellion Aotearoa New Zealand spokeswoman Dr Sea Rotmann said climate activists were still actively labelled, criticised and discredited.

Conservationists were often grouped with terrorists and conspiracy theorists and attacked from all angles, she said.

But she decided her only option was to ‘‘rebel for life’’ and promote non-violent, direct action, to try to get mass mobilisation.

‘‘Get people out on the streets, be the fire alarm, really draw attention to the fact the house is on fire and we don’t have time.’’ Rotmann said she had spent her life fighting to protect the ocean and environment, and had gone on to study marine biology.

She felt this year had seen a slow change in the public perception in regards to climate change.

‘‘We are finally waking enough people up; this is not OK any more and it needs to change.’’