Can you cut 1 Tonne of carbon pollution out of your life?
Take the challengeAmelia Telford, known to some as Millie, is a Bundjalung woman, born in Tweed Heads and who grew up in a little place called Riley's Hill with her parents, two older brothers and labrador.
I caught up with her for a chat about her current work for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), to build a network of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders on climate change and sustainability.
How did you come to be involved in with the AYCC and the Seed program?
Basically, it goes back to high school where I got involved with a local environment group because I was really concerned about the impacts of climate change on the coastal area that I grew up on – I come from the Bundjalung nation in New South Wales. I grew more concerned when I learnt about the impacts of climate change and fossil fuel projects on Indigenous culture and land. It was through my high school that I found out about the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) and started getting involved as a volunteer.
Through AYCC, I discovered a powerful climate change movement made up of young people all across the country and it was something I really wanted to be a part of.
As I got more involved, I realised the true injustice of the issue and the impacts it had, not just on young people, but on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. At that time, the AYCC wasn't really doing much in terms of supporting Indigenous young people to speak up and so we uncovered this huge gap that was also a huge opportunity to develop something to support these people. And it's through the journey that we've now developed what's known as Seed.
"Over the course of the past few years we've realised just how important it is for Indigenous young people to have something that is representative of who we are and something that we feel ownership over."- Amelia Telford
Why do you think it's so important for Indigenous people to be involved in climate change action?
I think that too often - and this goes for Indigenous people all around the world - our communities contribute the least to the causes of climate change yet we face the most severe consequences. It's also a broader issue around larger systematic injustices that our people have faced for generations. For a lot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people it's about our connection to country and being able to stand up for it in a way that's connected to standing up for our people, our lives and our culture.
Seed, is really quite unique within the climate movement in that it's a national network for our people to come together and take collective action and share stories about how we're leading the change across the country. It's unique also because we work alongside the AYCC and aren't exclusive to just young Indigenous Australians. It can be quite beautiful, actually, linking Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people together. Many non-Indigenous young people learn a lot about the history of Indigenous Australia and likewise many Indigenous people learn more about the experiences of non-Indigenous young people.
What have been some of your personal highlights as Seed National Director?
I'm kind of going through a highlight at the moment actually! We celebrated the first anniversary of Seed about two weeks ago. In the past year, we've grown so much in terms of the number of young volunteers we support and how broadly we're known within the climate movement within Australia.
At the moment, we're really focusing strongly on building our capacity to be leaders in our communities and core players within the bigger environment movement.
Another thing I'm proud of at the moment is that we've just built-up our core leadership team within Seed – there's about 12 of us now collectively driving the future of Seed.
You've talked in interviews before, about the importance of mentors and I wondered who some of your environmental heroes are?
One of the most significant mentors for me over these years has been Anna Rose – the founder of the AYCC. Anna started mentoring me in high school and it was through her leadership that the opportunity to coordinate Seed came about.
Something so great about her leadership is that she's been a really good ally to a lot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She understands the importance of having non-Indigenous allies to support Indigenous people as well as really push the remainder of the, predominantly non-Indigenous, climate movement to better support our people. Someone else who's been very supportive is Karrina Nolan – an incredible Aboriginal woman who has a wealth of experience working with Indigenous communities across Australia. She's like a sister to me but also a really significant mentor in my life. She's also helping with the development of Seed.
Amelia Telford (right) with Anna Rose (left) [Image source]
Given our current political climate and the indifference of our government on climate change, how do you stay motivated and passionate?
It's something I think a lot of people struggle with. Often what gives me hope is – not just all the people in Australia – but all the people around the world who have realised that our current system is one that needs to be challenged and if we work together really strongly we can actually be a part of changing history.
Doing the work that I do and meeting so many young people who are willing to give up so much of their time, energy and passion to being part of the solution is really inspiring.- Amelia Telford
What are the future plans of Seed?
At the moment, our main priorities are raising awareness about climate change and the impacts of fossil fuels on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
We'll also be working hard alongside the AYCC on the campaign to save the Great Barrier Reef and later in the year we'll be leading a road trip from Cairns to Brisbane and meeting with communities along the reef coast, which is a huge project area for Seed.
In the lead up to the Paris climate negotiations that are happening in November/December we're also having a really strong focus on building the capacity of Seed and the movement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people standing up for climate justice.