BRONWYN HAYWARD

The Accidental Activist

and psychological effects on scientists working on climate change. ‘‘Many of my colleagues in climate science are struggling with grief. There’s frustration that people aren’t listening, but you’re working away on the science of it and then, all of a sudden, you stop and think about the reality of it.’’

She recalls seeing the high anxiety of colleagues while working in Brazil. ‘‘There was this massive thunderstorm, huge hail smashing into the windows. And a colleague, who is a gruff, very lovely physicist, said, ‘imagine this in a four-degree [rise] world’.

‘‘I didn’t quite hear him and I turned around and noticed that he was quickly brushing away tears.

‘‘Every now and then it hits everybody. I think that’s why I’m very grateful that I’m not just working on climate – that I’m also working with children and democracy, because it gives you that opportunity to listen to very hopeful, enthusiastic kids.

‘‘We created this problem. It is going to take multiple generations to get out of this situation. But we actually have to lay the grounding and build the capacity for citizens and young citizens to lead and act.’’

Hayward says a lot of young mothers and grandparents have written to her, worried about climate change. ‘‘That is one of the things that drives my work and makes me think, practically, how can we support kids? And a lot of the work I’m doing, like working in India or Ethiopia, the situations that kids are in already are extreme.

‘‘It is quite moving to have the opportunity to work alongside local teens making small solutions that have been successful over several years. I’ve really come to respect doing the small things really well in communities that make a difference to children’s lives now and into the future.’’

Hayward has concerns for global democracy. ‘‘Faced with fear, communities can react very badly – rush decisions, find community groups to scapegoat and make situations much worse. We will start eroding the fabric of our democracy and society, and strip children of their right to a democratic future as well as a sustainable one.’’