Tell us about your Canary Craftivists project.
Groups of craftivists have been meeting at local landmarks across the country – everywhere from Cardiff to Folkestone – to make little yellow canaries to send as encouraging gifts with handwritten letters to their local MP. The message asks MPs to encourage Boris Johnson and Alok Sharma to be brave hosts and leaders at COP26 in November and to ask our politicians to act faster and bolder to protect our home from climate catastrophe.
In one flock, we had three generations of a family who all had very different political ideologies, but came together for this because they all cared about their community and the environment.
Why do you refer to your craftivism as ‘gentle protest’?
All of my craftivism work is based on neuroscience and positive psychology. I call our approach ‘gentle protest’, but it’s not about being passive or weak, it’s about doing something compassionately, and in a caring and careful way to make it strategic.
I wouldn't do a gentle protest approach to activism if it didn't work – it has genuinely helped change people's hearts and minds, as well as policies and laws around the world.