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Anna Kernahan is a climate, ecological, social justice and human rights activist, and founder of Fridays for Future Northern Ireland. From Belfast, Northern Ireland, they[a] are also a writer. They protest every Friday to acknowledge climate change, as part of Fridays For Future, a global climate strike movement.[2][3][4][5]

Early life

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Kernahan was born on 25th of July 2002.[1][better source needed][non-primary source needed] According to them, at a young age, Kernahan had already a passion for nature being interested in ecology and wildlife and loving being in nature, going on walks through the hills and reading nature encyclopedias.[4][6] On 2019, on the age of 16, after reading about Greta Thunberg, Fridays For Future and reports concerning the environment such as the 2018 IPCC special report, Kernahan became concerned with the climate emergency believing that the educational system is not teaching with enough significance about the climate crisis and that politicians are not totally aware of the crisis.[7][4][8] So, they started raising awareness about the pollution impact by making scientific data on this topic known and protesting, fighting and demanding the politicians to act on the climate crisis.[4][5]

Activism

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Anna Kernahan striking, as part of the Youth Strike 4 Climate movement.

According to them, Kernahan started as a social justice activist when they were 13 years old.[4]

Then, on 2019, they decided to school strike for the environment, although their school didn't support the idea of school striking and only let them do it with a few restricitions.[7][4] Firstly, in May 2019, Kernahan joined the Northern Ireland Students' Climate Network, the Youth Strike 4 Climate branch of Northern Ireland, striking monthly. Then, in September 2019, they created Fridays For Future Northern Ireland, the national Northern Irish section of Friday For Future protesting and raising awareness about climate change every Friday.[7][9][4]

Thus, Kernahan has been school striking every Friday without any exception on the sculpture Spirit of Belfast, protesting frequently alone.[10][11] Besides remonstrating for the environment, they write poems, their thoughts on the environmental problems and their experiences as an activist and often make art to concern people about the pollution and other climate problems, specially directed to politicians and governments.[12][non-primary source needed]

Solo But Not Alone

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In December 2019, Kernahan and two friends, Grace Maddrell and Helen Jackson, created a Twitter page, called Solo Not Alone, with the purpose of sharing stories of solo climate strikes.[13][non-primary source needed][7][14]

Campaign #LearnMoreOutdoors

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On 3rd of March 2020, Ulster Wildlife and its Our Bright Future Youth Advocate launched a campaign called #LearnMoreOutdoors to celebrate World Wildlife Day.[15][16] Kernahan participated in this movement by helping in its series of videos about the advantages of outdoor schooling and giving their opinion about the subject.[17]

TED-Talk

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On 14th of March 2020, Kernahan had a TED-Talk where they and another young climate activist, Kaitlyn Laverty, called the viewers to act and take the environmental problems seriously.[18]

Amnesty Brave Award 2020

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In 2020, Kernahan won the Amnesty Brave Award 2020 as they had been striking for more than half a year when Ireland had very strict protesting laws.[19]

Northern Ireland Science Festival

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Between 15th to 28th of February 2021, in the Northern Ireland Science Festival, Kernahan joined an inter-generational conversation on the key problems facing the planet and what is necessary to do in order to influence politicians and the public, named How to save the planet, . The conversation was presented in partnership with British Council Northern Ireland, included Jane Goodall and Tara Shine and was hosted by wildlife biologist Lizzie Daly.[20][21][22]

Criticism

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Kernahan was criticised for only school striking for the environment so they could skip classes. They had stated in an interview that they hate striking and would prefer going to school, but they have no option as they felt it is their moral duty.[7][9]

Notes

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  1. ^ Anna Kernahan uses they/them pronouns.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Kernahan, Anna. "Anna Kernahan". x.com. Self-published. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  2. ^ Studios, Regen (2 December 2022). "Meet Anna Kernahan". The Regenerators. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  3. ^ Corscadden, Jane; McGoran, Peter; McLaughlin, Sophie (8 March 2022). "International Women's Day: 30 women from Northern Ireland who are breaking down barriers". BelfastLive. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "BBC Radio Ulster - The Lynette Fay Show, Earth Day and harpist Brídín, Earth Day with youth climate activist Anna Kernahan". BBC. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  5. ^ a b "Big city centre climate strike demo takes place today". Belfast Media Group. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  6. ^ "'Being out in nature is a fun way to learn'". Belfast Telegraph. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2023. Did your interest in ecology/wildlife start at a young age? Yes, I've always loved being in nature, searching for worms and walking through hills. In nursery school I'd be digging in soil to search for insects and once I could read I was obsessed with nature encyclopaedias.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Interview with Anna Kernahan, Climate Strike Activist | Development Education Review". www.developmenteducationreview.com. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  8. ^ "Climate change: Northern Ireland pupils to study new qualification". BBC News. 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  9. ^ a b The Newsroom (15 January 2020). "NI Teenager: I'd Rather be in School Than Taking Part in Climate Strikes". News Letter. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Interview with Anna Kernahan". unsustainable. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2023. Instead, every week without fail, sometimes with company but frequently alone, she protests at the Spirit of Belfast statue in Cornmarket, Belfast.
  11. ^ "'Being out in nature is a fun way to learn'". Belfast Telegraph. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2023. Yes, there have been school strikes every Friday but on a much smaller scale. Every crisis should be treated like a crisis and this means both the climate crisis and the coronavirus crisis so we are trying to balance the importance of raising awareness of the environment while also staying safe.
  12. ^ "Anna Kernahan". 21 June 2022.
  13. ^ @solo_not_alone (December 30, 2019). "Hey people! We are a support/coordination network for solo strikers. Account currently managed by me (@ElmGrace), Helen (@_carbontiptoes) and Anna (@AnnaKernahan)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Jessica Murray (13 February 2020). "'I've lost friends': the young climate strikers forced to go it alone". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2023. It was the power of social media that inspired Anna Kernahan, 17, Grace Maddrell, 14, and Helen Jackson, 21, to set up Solo But Not Alone, a Twitter page dedicated to sharing the stories of solo climate strikers."People will say: 'Oh, you're not alone,' but it's hard to see that when you are sitting there at the strike and there's no one else around you, everyone's walking past," says Anna. She strikes alone in Belfast from 12pm to 3pm every Friday, often reading a book or catching up on homework. Although she struggles to get friends to join her, she has one powerful supporter to keep her going – Greta Thunberg.
  15. ^ "Ulster Wildlife Youth Advocates call for students to #LearnMoreOutdoors". Ulster Wildlife. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  16. ^ Bailie, Tony (2021-03-06). "Tony Bailie's Take on Nature: Advocating for the environment". The Irish News. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  17. ^ "'Being out in nature is a fun way to learn'". Belfast Telegraph. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Young climate justice activists call for action". TED. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Amnesty Brave Awards 2020". Amnesty International UK. Retrieved 1 June 2023. Anna Kernahan is a 17-year-old climate activist who unfailingly takes part in weekly climate strikes in Northern Ireland as part of the global Fridays for Future movement. She has now kept it up for six months: a considerable achievement given that protest laws are stricter than elsewhere in the UK.
  20. ^ "How to Save The Planet - In conversation with Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, Tara Shine and Anna Kernahan". British Council: Northern Ireland. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  21. ^ "ONE PLANET How to Save the Planet – In conversation with Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, Tara Shine and Anna Kernahan – Tara Shine". Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  22. ^ Cousins, Graeme (February 9, 2021). "World renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall to take part in NI climate panel discussion". News Letter.
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