LOCAL HERO
There’s no stopping this environmentalist
It was my daughter Aster who first inspired me out of my armchair and onto the streets to protest.
When she was just five years old, in 2013, she overheard me discussing fracking with my family, and said: ‘But Mummy, if it’s poisoning the earth, how can people do it?’ The simple logic stopped me in my tracks. I knew I had to do more to defend our beautiful countryside.
I was born and brought up in Stroud, a pretty corner of the Cotswolds, which is known for its independent, Bohemian spirit.
In 1994 I left to study languages at the University of Oxford. I loved it and gained a congratulatory first.
But I was never tempted by big corporations, and chose to work as a tour guide instead. Some years later, I moved back to the Cotswolds with my husband, Matt, and our children, Aster and Dexter.
It was joyful to return, but I learnt there were plans to build an incinerator that would emit dangerous toxins, harmful to human health and wildlife, in the area. It would be part of a new waste facility near Stonehouse, proposed by Gloucestershire’s council. It prompted me to consider environmental issues in depth, including fracking – a process that blasts water, sand and chemicals deep underground to extract gas or oil, which has a huge impact on our climate and countryside. I decided to get in touch with antifracking campaigner Katy Dunne and crowdfunded to print leaflets about fracking’s true consequences. The leaflets made an impact, inspiring strong resistance in many areas, and helping frame a national debate.
To raise awareness about the incinerator, we decided to hold sofa sit-ins and a tea party! We wanted to do something that would be inclusive to show activism could be for everyone. Sitting and drinking tea seemed a suitably genteel approach. We set up tables with pretty crockery on the grassy verge at the incinerator site. About 100 people attended, and we had great local news coverage.
I helped persuade actor Jeremy Irons to join our fight. In spring 2016 a project was underway to crowdfund an alternative to the incinerator. Known as R4C, this facility would be far cheaper, and much less hazardous. Jeremy had made a film called Trashed, arguing for better waste management methods. He was performing at a theatre in Bristol, so
I went to see the show and left a postcard in his dressing room. At the end of the night, he met me and pledged a donation to R4C. He would also film a speech in its support. Many tens of thousands of pounds were raised, yet still the contract went to the incinerator. But there is now a police investigation into irregularities surrounding the contract. So watch this space…
One of the most important meetings of my life came about through my work against fracking. In 2014, I got to know activist Polly Higgins, a former barrister who had moved to the area. Polly was campaigning to create an international law against ecocide, or serious damage to the environment. I started to volunteer alongside her. A law against ecocide could be our best hope in tackling the climate crisis.
Tragically, Polly died earlier this year, but her mission lives on. This is now my life’s passion. It’s incredible to think it all started with a few leaflets. Now I am fighting to protect the landscape locally, and beyond. Small actions can lead to big changes.
To support Jojo and Polly’s work, visit stopecocide.earth