I interviewed Councillor Rachel Smith-Lyte about the origins of her passion for nature and her environmental activism. Rachel tells the story of her teaching (and learning) with RSPB and the Trust for Conservation Volunteers, as well as her Greenpeace and XR activism. She ends describing her political work as a Green Party District Councillor, supporting and encouraging people to be active citizens.

Leslie: How did your passion for wildlife conservation begin, grow and develop, who and what inspired you?

Rachel: When you talk to nearly all adults who share my passion for nature and wildlife, it nearly always stems from childhood. I’m sure we all know of adults who came to it independently later in life, but in the main the pattern remains, and like most, it took a back seat in my teens and early twenties as other passions took hold (such as music and the opposite sex) but I became interested again in my mid-twenties. It no doubt helped that I grew up in East Suffolk and much of my childhood was spent horse riding with friends or sailing with my father and family and that the precious and beautiful estuaries, coast and heaths of this area were my backdrop. The other major factor that needs acknowledging was that I had a grandmother and have a much-loved aunt who loved and knew all the various birds and their calls and certainly the ‘common’ garden bird ones. They had vinyl records with them on that I would listen to. As mother and daughter living less than a mile apart in Constable Country, they both had about an acre of land with my aunt having a smallholding of sorts – ducks, chickens, veg patches and old pig sheds long abandoned but re-purposed by wasp and other pollinator nests. My grandmother had a spinney as part of a meadow populated by larch and other pines plus birch but the larch were my favourite with their red cones – as a child I thought they looked like raspberries. I don’t remember when the fashion for neatness and therefore so much damage to habitats started to take hold in our society, but there was certainly none of that down on their land! It was a veritable feast of wildlife comings and goings in macro and micro and I thought it was normal to know where a Hornet hibernates for the winter and to watch it emerge from its hole in the ground in Spring. So really by osmosis – not by books and lessons – I learned all this and much of my botanical knowledge also dates from that time. I remember once watching a duck (Mallard I think) yawn and being aware of how similar we are in some ways and the realisation that we are nature too started young. Lucky me.

Leslie: What did you do for the RSPB and the Trust for Conservation Volunteers? In your view what changes have occurred in these organisations over the time you’ve known them?

Rachel: I was a Field Teacher at RSPB Minsmere for about 18 months which involved working with a few excellent and also very knowledgeable colleagues, creating and tailoring learning resources and programmes for visiting school groups of all ages from primary up to more specialist A level students. I especially remember how much the smaller children enjoyed the mini beast hunts in the woods and the pond dipping sessions which increased my knowledge of aquatic life too. The best sort of playground.

Around the same time, I worked for what was BTCV (British Trust Conservation Volunteers) who have since dropped the ‘British’ for four years overall during which time I had three different jobs including one promotion to manage Young Volunteer Challenge in Norwich and later Ipswich, recruiting and supporting a socio-economically disadvantaged cohort between 19 and 24 into volunteering placements as an alternative way of eventually accessing further education or work. I also worked as a Natural Breaks Coordinator, which was the long-running working holidays programme for a summer season, fetching and carrying participants in a mini bus from train stations to the various conservation task sites on the Norfolk Broads, organising food shopping and meal rotas, accommodation, petty cash and even occasionally site tasks including safe tool use talks, fire safety and other tasks alongside our partner the Broads Authority.

I don’t consider myself in a position to comment on these organisations metamorphoses since I left their employ, but considering the lean times the non land-owning TCV in particular has had to endure over the years, I am impressed and glad they still exist, albeit with a slight shift in emphasis since I left. The TCV started in 1959 (as BTCV) and has had such luminaries as David Bellamy (remember him!?), Bill Oddie and Sir David Attenborough as patrons which is impressive. It’s just a bit of a tragedy and frankly a disgrace that in all these years we have never had a UK Government who properly valued and accordingly funded such important conservation work that we now know is so critical for mental health in terms of green space and access to it as well as for the wildlife itself.

Leslie: Can you tell the story of becoming a Greenpeace activist, what you did, and how that has led to your current Green Party and XR Commitments? Why has your involvement developed in the way it has?

Rachel: I’m not sure I can actually pinpoint when I got involved with Greenpeace as a physical activist (as opposed to a letter-writing etc. one) but one of the first campaigns for me was in 2001 ‘Stop Esso’ chaining myself to a petrol pump in Norwich dressed as a Tiger – the police came and were really nice on that occasion and actually ended up protecting us from an angry public! There were about 300 Esso stations shut down that day nationally and I thought it was actually quite pioneering – the stations fuel supplies were shut off via a special safety handle and those then got posted back to ExxonMobil HQ in Texas with an explanatory letter – i.e. that despite all their $billions they weren’t investing one single cent in alternative fuels and technologies vis a vis oil. There were others much braver than I who actually somehow got into the Texas HQ office dressed in suits and created (non-violent) mayhem. A lot of thought had also gone into avoiding targeting franchisees who earned relatively little from running the stations as well as not stranding motorists by only closing stations where another was available a short drive away. Anyway, I still have the T shirt somewhere. Later I was involved in a ‘weapons inspection’ at Aldermaston dressed as a UN weapons inspector complete with replica UN blue beret. It was a bit unnerving as the Police were already on the station platform waiting for us on arrival – no idea how they found out – it was mega early in the morning but that’s their raison d’etre eh.

On to XR (Extinction Rebellion) – the Greenpeace stuff in retrospect was a prototype of what was to come in terms of mass civil disobedience and I’ve never understood quite the level of furore generated over what we did (and continue to do) with XR actions (and certainly not Just Stop Oil) because it’s not actually anything new. Most of the fuss has been generated by the media, most of whom are in the pay of the fossil fuel lobby and not being naive – some of it has suited the purpose well in terms of highlighting the issues of climate breakdown and the twin ecological emergency. What XR has done is to democratise protest through NVDA (non-violent direct action) because let’s face it, most people don’t have the opportunity to or just can’t or wouldn’t want to actually put themselves between a ship and a whale or scale an oil rig etc. from an inflatable. Also, huge numbers of people were needed to have the kind of impact we achieved on the streets of London in April and October 2019 in particular where I think the highest arrest numbers were 1500 souls in one week – that’s a lot of cell space and ‘rebels’ were being shipped out to the home counties as London police stations struggled to cope.

Obviously, what we did divides opinion but we were right to raise the alarm and when you consider just how urgent the problem is and that there is no longer any time left to go through the usual channels i.e. write to your MP, sign petitions etc. and when you know enough history to understand that mass civil disobedience is the only thing that has ever actually worked, it becomes obvious that we have to step up and be brave. Anyway, it’s up to history to judge us, not me, but I can honestly say I’ve met and seen some of the best humanity has to offer by being a part of this movement and when there are thousands of you, you really are ‘in it together’ and it stops being so scary. And where else, on release from custody, would you find two people (one asleep on a rug on a pavement!) waiting with a hug, food, water and the bus fare home?

Leslie: How do you balance your life? What are the activities and groups you’re involved in that give relief/respite from political activism?

Rachel: I have fabulous nephews who i adore and are my salve. I’ve also been so lucky to have great parents and a sister with shared values who is proud of me even though we’re chalk and cheese and fought like hell as kids! It’s been character building let’s say. I have loyal and brilliant friends and I am also a complete funster – it’s really important to be just plain silly sometimes and I get that kick from being in a Morris troupe which has been unexpectedly fun and takes me to various festivals and events. I play the folk fiddle by ear – not exactly a virtuoso but who cares? I don’t solo so it doesn’t matter if I play the odd bum note. I also love to dance when I get the chance (love ballroom) and sing – I’ll scream along to most things but rock music is absolutely my first love and I am still a fairly regular gig-goer. Manic Street Preachers and Heavy Metal Kids are my go-to for a good kitchen wig out! I also try to keep fit and even joined a gym recently which I never thought I would do – those endorphins sure are addictive!

Leslie: What are the personal qualities needed to be involved in politics? Why do so many people want to avoid politics and what can we do to change that?

Rachel: Firstly, I think you need to be fairly thick-skinned as well as patient! It can be difficult and slow getting enough consensus both by the public through consultations etc. as well as with your political group and/or the administration to enact change. I’ll admit I am not always either of those things so it’s a personal challenge too at times but it has taught me a lot. The way power seems to work and the system has developed though competition in line with capitalism isn’t always helpful and it needs to change to not only work better but attract new and younger talent in, definitely. The private school system and privilege that goes with that i.e. almost automatic entry into Oxbridge and then into high level politics – the sense of entitlement and uber-confidence that instils has actually been quite damaging as we know. I mean, if we really had the best minds in the top job(s) we wouldn’t be in such a mess would we? Where are the so-called ordinary people’s voices and lived experiences in Parliament? I remember Bonnie Greer once saying “people have no idea of their own power” (quoting someone else I think) and that’s sadly so true. It certainly took me a long time to find mine, but also that actually the realisation that our true power is through the collective – we can only ever achieve so much alone and it’s not nearly as much fun!  Being a councillor can be quite isolating despite all the various networks and that needs tackling – working mainly from home despite the benefits I don’t think is doing our nation’s mental health not least any favours – we need more in-person collaboration and creative sparks and inspiration that can only ever happen face-to-face in those incidental conversations you don’t get any other way. It’s also OK to admit you don’t always know the answer – no-one does and its far better to be honest if and until you do.

Something that really annoys me is that ‘Be a Councillor’ events are rarely part of the careers mix in schools, colleges or even universities which is partly why we end up with the skewed older person perspectives that we do in councils despite some brilliant staff support and that’s not being ageist it’s just how it is and it’s not helpful. We really urgently need younger perspectives as part of the mix – and it does need to be multi-generational to work effectively, not an either/or. I don’t think most people let alone young people have any idea what is involved in being at any level of government as an elected member, let alone that they could do it if they wanted to. They aren’t told and I sometimes wonder if that’s been deliberate. I certainly didn’t know anything about it until I joined the Green Party in 2011. Also, almost no one mentions the fact you get paid an allowance as a principal authority councillor (so District, County and Unitary). It’s hardly riches (and nowhere even vaguely near what MPs get) but it does make the difference between being able to afford to dedicate some time to it or not. It is a really interesting position and a privilege to be able to help people and do good and important things for nature and the planet too which is why I went into it in the first place. It’s not surprising people are turned off from getting involved in politics with all the sleeze and filibustering braying they see in the House of Commons etc., rather than actual adult debate resulting in well thought through policies and legislation for the betterment of the nation and beyond. It’s been said before but I really think we need a new parliament – a move away from the rat-infested crumbling edifice that is Westminster – probably to Birmingham which is more central, cover it in glass like the Norwegian parliament and have the chamber(s) on the outside so the public can see in and the politicians out and therefore be reminded who voted for them and who they are there to serve. There are of course brilliant and hard-working MP’s who care such as the recently departed and rightly revered Caroline Lucas and the newly elected Adrian Ramsay who is already proving himself worthy of his election, together with stalwarts such as Clive Lewis, but we all know these are sadly not representative enough of what we have seen in recent years which has damaged politics so much. I would like to see binding Citizen’s or People’s Assemblies through sortition become the norm at all levels including at my own council. Yes I represent the people in my ward but I am also just one person and things are now so urgent with the climate and societal breakdown that everyone now needs more agency to step up and get actively involved – anything else is now patriarchal nonsense in my humble opinion.

Next week I inteviewed Helen M Stevens who has revived the art of traditional embroidery.

ABOUT LESLIE TATE’S BOOKS:

1. Love’s Register tells the story of romantic love and climate change over four UK generations. Beginning with ‘climate children’ Joe, Mia and Cass and ending with Hereiti’s night sea journey across Oceania, the book’s voices take us through family conflicts in the 1920s, the pressures of the ‘free-love 60s’, open relationships in the feminist 80s/90s and a contemporary late-life love affair. Love’s Register is a family saga and a modern psychological novel that explores the way we live now.
   • A signed copy of Love’s Register is available in pounds sterling here.
   • The paperback in other currencies is available here.                                                 
   • Ebook for Kindle in £s here and in $s here.                                                           
   • For other ebook reading devices here (all currencies). 
2. Heaven’s Rage is a memoir that explores addiction, cross-dressing, bullying and the hidden sides of families, discovering at their core the transformative power of words to rewire the brain and reconnect with life. “A Robin Red breast in a Cage / Puts all Heaven in a Rage” – William Blake. You can read more about/buy Heaven’s Rage here.
3. The Dream Speaks Back, written by Sue Hampton, Cy Henty and Leslie Tate, is a joint autobiography exploring imagination and the adult search for the inner child. The book looks at gender difference, growing up in unusual families and mental health issues. It’s also a very funny portrait of working in the arts, full of crazy characters, their ups and downs, and their stories. You can buy a signed copy of The Dream Speaks Back here.
4. Ways to be Equally Human tells the inside story of coming out as a non-binary person, from being ‘othered’ in gendered toilets to stepping up on stage & radio and taking action with Extinction Rebellion. Full of lyrical writing, humour and quirky insights, this is a book for lovers of language, nonconformists and passionate thinkers. You can buy a signed copy here.