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Mya-Rose Craig

Mya-Rose Craig
Mya-Rose Craig, in 2022
Alma mater
OccupationSchool student, ornithologist, activist, ecologist Edit this on Wikidata
Awards
Websitehttp://www.birdgirluk.com/ Edit this on Wikidata

Mya-Rose Craig (born 7 May 2002), also known as Birdgirl, is a British birdwatcher, and author.

Early life and education

Craig attended Chew Valley School.[1] In June 2024, she graduated with a degree in Human, Social and Political Sciences from St John's College, Cambridge.[2]

Birding

Throughout nearly her entire life, Craig has pursued ornithology. Craig appeared on the 2010 BBC Four documentary "Twitchers: A Very British Obsession." Afterwards she appeared on Springwatch, Countryfile, and The One Show.[3] Her first newspaper column, “Birding Tales”, was published in the Chew Valley Gazette when she was 12.[4]

At age 11, she started her blog, Birdgirl, to share her passion for birds. The following year, she campaigned to raise $35,000 for a Bangladeshi charity to deal with the 2014 Sundarbans oil spill.[2] As her platform grew, she found herself wanting to explore topics beyond birds. By June 2022, the blog had attracted 6 million views.[5]

Activism

Craig was a "Bristol 2015 Ambassador" during the city's year as European Green Capital.[6] In 2018, she contributed to Chris Packham's A People’s Manifesto for Wildlife and was enlisted as the manifesto’s "minister of diversity".[7] Craig campaigned with Greta Thunberg at the Youth Strike 4 Climate event in Bristol in February 2020.[8] She has organized conferences featuring celebrity nature enthusiasts such as Bill Oddie, Chris Packham, and RSPB chief executive Beccy Speight.[9]

In September 20, 2020, in collaboration with Greenpeace, Craig organized a solitary climate strike on a piece of sea ice in the Arctic, situated at a latitude of 82.4°N, standing on an ice floe with a "Youth Strike for Climate" message. This protest marked the northernmost climate-change demonstration to date.[10] That same month, she joined the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' (RSPB) advisory committee, becoming its youngest member.[11]

Awards and recognitions

In 2018, Craig won the National Biodiversity Network's Gilbert White Youth Award for recording terrestrial and freshwater wildlife.[12]

In February 2020, Craig received an honorary doctorate in science (DSc hc) from the University of Bristol.[13]

Craig's first book, We Have a Dream, was nominated for Discover Book of the Year at the British Book Awards 2022.[14] In March 2023, she was longlisted for the 2023 Jhalak Prize for her memoir, Birdgirl.[15] The book was a winner of the 2023 Somerset Maugham Award. Her third book, Flight, won the 2024 Edward Stanford Children’s Travel Book of the Year.[16]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ "The One Show's Mike Dilger and Birdgirl join forces – Agri-hub". 20 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b Specter, Francesca (14 September 2023). "Mya-Rose Craig (AKA Birdgirl) on getting trolled and campaigning alongside Greta Thunberg: 'Posting on social media is not activism'". Glamour UK. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Mya-Rose Craig | 'If you care and want to change the world, you can go out and do it'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  4. ^ Bearn, Emily (14 June 2023). "A beautiful book about birds that will make children's imaginations soar". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Why Dr Mya-Rose Craig is flying in the face of convention". Red Bull. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Bristol 2015 Ambassadors | Bristol 2015 - European Green Capital". web.archive.org. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  7. ^ Bourke, India (26 September 2018). "Springwatch host Chris Packham's radical quest to end "the war on wildlife"". New Statesman. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  8. ^ Creamer, Nora (28 February 2020). "Greta Thunberg tells Bristol climate rally she 'will not be silent while world is on fire'". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  9. ^ Jacobs, Emma (7 July 2020). "Mya-Rose Craig: 'Young people need to see someone like them who is into nature'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Youngest person to birdwatch on all continents (female)". Guinness World Records.
  11. ^ "'Birdgirl' joins RSPB committee as youngest member". BBC. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Winners of the 2018 UK Awards for Biological Recording and Information Sharing Announced!". National Biodiversity Network. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  13. ^ "'Birdgirl' Mya-Rose Craig receives Bristol University honorary doctorate". BBC News. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Sally Rooney and Julia Donaldson among nominees for British Book Awards 2022". The Argus. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  15. ^ "2023". Jhalak Prize. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2024 presented by Viking". Stanford's.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mya-Rose_Craig