Being One of Bristol’s Most Influential Young People

Clifton Suspension Bridge during International Balloon Fiesta, Bristol

My home city is Bristol. We live just outside but that is where my parents used to live and work. We go there a lot as most of my family live there and that’s where we go shopping, eat out or talk.

The Bristol Youth Magazine, Rife, is based at the amazing Watershed Centre and they came up with a list of Bristol’s most influential young people under 24, in music, film, art and green issues “Bristol 24<24”.

Rife Magazine, Bristol, copyright Rife Magazine

Why?

They wanted to celebrate everything that young people had done for Bristol and for the youth culture in the city.

Rife Magazine’s most influential young people in Bristol

I still can’t believe I am in the same list of Bristol’s most influential young people as singer-songwriter George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams. This was a huge highlight of 2014 for me. In case you live on Jupiter, here’s what they have done:

George Ezra, Singer

George Ezra is 2014’s breakout singer-songwriter star. He attended BIMM before playing the BBC Introducing stage at Glasto. Since then, Ezra has only been on the up and up. His ‘Wanted on a Voyage’ EP hit number one in June this year and single ‘Budapest’ earned undeniable earworm status all summer long, reaching number one in places as far-flung as New Zealand and the Czech Republic. Follow @george_ezra

Maisie Williams, Actress

Maisie Williams is best known for her role as Arya Stark in the HBO television series ‘Game of Thrones’, which earned her the 2012 Portal Awards for Best Supporting Actress – Television and Best Young Actor, and the BBC Radio 1 Teen Award for Best British Actor in 2013. She has also received nominations for the Scream Award for Best Ensemble (2011), and the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actress (2013) for her performance. Follow @maisie_williams

A Young Birder’s thoughts

I hope that I can use my influence to try and save our planet along with everything on it. For anyone who is interested in wildlife and conservation, Bristol is an amazing city as we have so many key organisations offering opportunities.

Care about nature, conservation and the environment? Why Bristol is the best city in the World for you

As a young person passionate about Wildlife, Conservation and the Environmental, Bristol is a great place to be.

European Green Capital 2015

Bristol European Green Capital 2015

Bristol is the European Green Capital 2015, which is brilliant and which hopefully will bring even more events here.

That means that the European Commission has recognised Bristol’s success in creating a green city with a high quality of life. This prestigious award gives Bristol a unique opportunity to further enhance the city’s reputation for creativity, culture and innovation. It was awarded due to its ability to demonstrate rapid progress and continuing ambition, across a wide range of quality of life, environmental and green business aspects.

Each year, one city is crowned European Green Capital to recognise its environmental achievements, future commitments and ability to inspire others. This is the first time that a UK city has been chosen.

The European Green Capital Award was set up to reward cities achieving high environmental standards and encourage them to commit to further environmental improvement and sustainable development.

Clifton Suspension Bristol, Bristol European Green Capital 2015

The winning city has to demonstrate a vision for the future which will inspire other cities to take similar action. And it needs to be a replicable model, promoting best practices in all other European cities.
The will be lots of benefits for Bristol. Not only will it attract investment and visitors to the city, but it will reinforce its reputation as a leading sustainable city in the UK and Europe.

Bristol, European Green Capital 2015

It is difficult to choose one reason why Bristol is so fantastic for me, as a young person passionate about these things. However, it really is the best place in the world because the following organisations are based here in Bristol.

TV and Radio

• The BBC Natural History Department
• The BBC team making The One Show
• The BBC team making Countryfile
• The BBC team making Springwatch
• The CBBC team making Wild
• The CBBC team making other programmes
  Shepherd’s Way (A Community Radio programme about wildlife)
• Lots of other wildlife production companies
• Specialist companies linked to natural history programme making, for example, companies that add music and voiceovers to natural history programmes
• Key wildlife personalities living in Bristol, such as:

1. Miranda Krestovnikoff (The One Show and RSPB President)
2. Chris Packham (Springwatch and President of The BTO)
   Steve Backshall (Deadly 60 and President of The Young People’s Trust for the Environment)
3. Simon King OBE (President of The Wildlife Trusts)
4. Mike Dilger (The One Show and Patron of The Disabled Birders Association)
5. Doug Allan (Wildlife Cameraman Penguin Post Office)
6. Ruth Peacey (Natural History Unit Producer Penguin Post Office)
7. Jo Sarsby (Natural History Personalities’ agent)

• Wildscreen Festival
• Wildscreen Fringe Festival
• Panda Awards – The Green
• Oscars

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig with Simon King at WWT Festival of Birds, Feb 2012
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Magazines

BBC Countryfile Magazine
BBC Wildlife Magazine

Why birds are cool, a 12 year old’s expert guide
Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig’s interview in BBC Countryfile Magazine

Events

• Bristol Natural History Consortium
• National Garden Bioblitz
• Festival of Nature
• The Big Green Week
• Bristol Museum – showcases events and a series of wildlife talks
• BBC Wildlife Photography Exhibition (shown at Bristol museum)
• Green Volunteer Awards
• Bristol Festival of Ideas – arranging events about the environment (e.g. Climate Change)
• Wilderness Lectures – talks by wilderness adventurers

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at the Festival of Nature with BBC Natural History Unit Producer, Ruth Peacey
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

John Martin, Avon County Recorder, during my garden Bioblitz
Photograph taken by and copyright Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Conservation Organisations

• Bristol Zoo and The Wild Place Project – A major conservation organisation, holding events and talks
• Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust – Base for their conservation scientists
• Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Slimbridge (WWT)
• Avon Wildlife Trust (AWT)
• Somerset Wildlife Trust (SWT)
• Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT)
• Bristol Natural History Society
• RSPB Bath local Group
• RSPB Weston Super Mare local Group
• St Werburghs City Farm Windmill Hill City Farm
• Secret World
• Chew Valley Ringing Station – for anyone wanting to learn to bird ring (band) and is the only place in the country still running ringing courses
• Various specialist groups for example bats and moths

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Chris Craig on Zip wire at Bristol Zoo
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Chris Craig on Zip wire at Bristol Zoo
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at Chew Valley Ringing Station
Photograph taken by and copyright Oliver Edwards Photography

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at Chew Valley Ringing Station
Photograph taken by and copyright Oliver Edwards Photography

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Nigel Jarrett, Helena Craig
and Sayam U Chowdhury at WWT Slimbridge
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Charities or companies working in the sector

• Forum for the Future (a network of 140 organisations working globally to solve complex sustainable challenges)
• The Soil Association (A Charity campaigning for planet-friendly food and farming)
•  The Sustainable Food Trust (Charity bringing together those interested in developing sustainable food systems)
• Sustrans (A Charity promoting sustainable transport)
• Triodos Bank (An Ethical Bank)
• The Converging World (A Charity that uses the profit from wind turbines to support social and environmental projects in India and UK)

Organisations for young people

• Bristol Nature Network – a group for young people interested in wildlife, providing support and events
• Bristol University offers a range of courses relating to wildlife, conservation and the environment
• UWE offers a range of courses relating to wildlife, conservation and the environment

So you can see that Bristol has a lot to offer anyone interested in nature, nature filmmaking, conservation or the environment. There is actually so much, that it is impossible to do it all (and go to school anyway!).

As well to all of this, Bristol is a cool city, being home to Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky and Banksy.

A Banksy, Bottom of Park Street, Bristol
Next to The Tube nightclub where my parents met,
now owned by Massive Attack

I hope that this acts as a reminder to those who live in Bristol, how amazing our city is and if don’t live here, you acknowledge how much of a central hub it is for these areas.