Young Environmental Activists Encouraged to Remain Persistent

Young environmental advocate, Eleanor Terrelonge, is encouraging aspiring activists to be outspoken in raising awareness about topics or issues that they are passionate about.

Drawing on her own experiences, she says that young people should not be afraid to reach out to others in trying to draw attention to and support for their cause.

“You know, as young people, a lot of times we feel intimidated, especially in conversations … with ministers or government officials. One of the things I learned is that they are just people too,” she tells JIS News.

The 29-year-old microbiologist serves as Director of the Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council (JCCYC), a voluntary organisation dedicated to raising awareness about climate change, its effects, and related environmental issues.

The organisation is the youth affiliate of the Climate Change Advisory Board, which falls under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

Miss Terrelonge founded the organisation in 2017 after becoming involved in government projects through volunteerism.

“I reached out to the Climate Change Advisory Board. That’s how JCCYC started. Once we got up and running, we developed a working relationship with the Climate Change Division…we’ve worked with them on a number of projects,” she tells JIS News.

Miss Terrelonge says it is also important for activists to demonstrate a high level of perseverance in their efforts, as convincing others to take action in support of a cause is not an easy task.

“For young people, don’t be afraid and don’t lose the momentum. You’re probably not going to get a favourable response the first, second, third, and fourth time. Sometimes, you just have to annoy them; don’t give up. [The environment] is your issue as a young person… so just stay persistent,” she urges.

Miss Terrelonge notes that she faced immense difficulty in maintaining her focus on environmental activism over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think what helped me to stay focused in the pandemic was just pivoting. COVID really highlighted a lot of the issues in society that are going to be affected by climate change. So, the same parts of society that are affected by COVID are also influenced by climate change, which is why we had our COVID chat in 2020 to discuss some of these intersectionalities,” she points out.

Miss Terrelonge cites the ‘Klean Kingston’ initiative and ‘Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica’ campaign as positive examples of the Government raising public awareness and action towards the environment.

Spearheaded by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), ‘Klean Kingston’ entails a special day for intense clean-up activities, the first of which took place in March with the support of over 500 volunteers.

It is also a part of the NSWMA’s ‘Clean City’ programme, which is designed to target the backlog of garbage in town centres and business districts.

Launched in February 2015, the ‘Nuh Dutty Up’ campaign is a feature of the Clean Coasts Project, led by the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) with the support of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

The campaign seeks to raise public awareness about the impact of waste mismanagement on public health and the environment, as well as promote personal responsibility for generating and disposing of waste.

“I think they’re good examples because they’re a good first step, especially with helping people understand the importance of environmental action,” she explains.

Miss Terrelonge further advises aspiring activists to find a community, as it is difficult to give attention to causes without support.

“The last piece of advice is to find a community. Any kind of activism is hard to do alone, especially with climate change, which is a topic that is not in everybody’s face per se, so you definitely need to find a community to support you and that you can pull resources from,” she tells JIS News.