P&P Campaigner Profile: Kate Perkins
Every month People & Planet profiles an individual campaigner, in order for us to celebrate and highlight what P&Pers are doing. If you think one of your friends should be displayed on this page then then get in touch with us.
Kate Perkins Cirencester P&P group
How old are you? 19
Where are you studying? Cirencester College, Gloucestershire
What are you studying? A2s in Environmental Science, Politics and Geography
What inspired you to start campaigning? Getting a bit depressed about Global Warming and what we’re doing to our planet — campaigning and doing things like P&P is a brilliant way of channelling the negative energy!!!
Describe your most memorable P&P experience. Ow-er??? Not exactly through P&P but going up to the Climate Camp at Heathrow in the summer for a day — it was really well organised, a surreal and informative experience and extremely empowering — makes you proud to be a greenie!!! And Big Green Gathering — Best green fest ever!!!! Also just going round college with banners etc advertising events about global warming always causes controversy making them memorable; Also the Carbon Rationing conference we did on the 2nd November.
Also going to the International Climate Change Demo on 8th Dec with our group which should be rather memorable!!!
How did you first hear about P&P? What´s the best thing about being involved in a P&P group? I first hear about P&P when I came in for my enrolment day for Cirencester College. The then group of lovely people were handing out leaflets about it. I was part of that group in 2004-2005 when they were campaigning for Fairtrade. Then last school year the original leader left and so the group died for a bit and I picked it up as co-ordinator mid last year and carried it through to this. We’re now focusing on Global Warming as it is the most pressing issue facing the planet today!
This year the group is fantastic — we have a keen bunch of people who are very co-operative and friendly; and thanks to a teacher called Kevin Lister who has supplied and pioneered various events like Camp Hope (small scale climate camp against Staverton Airport expansion and the carbon rationing conference) we’ve got a lot of stuff done this year already. Best thing about being part of this group it is works!!! We’re getting stuff done and we’re nice to work with — what more can I say!!
With many commentators suggesting that apathy is rife amongst young people, what can be done to engage young people in the campaign for social justice? Ummmm!!! Making it more accessible to them and more on their level, like P&P does. Running events with young people in mind that engages them in the issues like the Carbon Rationing conference (which let young people have their say on issues effecting them to the people in power). Plus not all youth’s are riddled with apathy — we’re a hard working lot some of us!!!!
What was the last film you watched? I had to babysit for someone on the weekend and they had the latest Fantastic Four movie so I watched that — rather good it was too
Where would you most like to visit? Anywhere you can get by train, boat, car or coach!!! — inter-railing round Europe is my next point of call I think.
What are your ambitions for the future? Well I’m applying to do Environmental Sciences at University. Which ever Uni I go to I’m taking the concept of Carbon Rationing with me, as ambitions are to get it in the Climate Change Bill currently going through parliament. Getting schools, colleges and Uni’s to implement a carbon rationing strategy first and taking this armed as pressure to the government is the way to go!!!
Cirencester P&P have put forward a proposal to be discussed at the Forum in March about Carbon Rationing in the education sector.
Other ambitions are being green really, trying to ignore the rather ingrained materialism of the world (it’s ruddy hard I know!) and going into something ‘campaigningy’ or to do with global warming on some level.
Read more about Cirencester College’s Carbon Rationing Mission
Read and discuss this and the other proposals for the Forum
