Climate Activist Mikaela Loach Inspires Our Juniors

Mikaela Loach, a climate activist, came into school on Monday to talk to the junior children about her life, and what had inspired her to become the person that she is today. 

Mikaela spoke to the juniors about her journey. She explained how she was born in Jamaica, moving to the UK when she was almost 3. As she was growing up, her parents encouraged Mikaela to consider what she cared about, and what she could do to make a difference to these causes. Mikaela said her first bit of activism was baking cakes to raise money for the Boxing Day Tsunami, when she was just 5 years old. She talked about how she continued to stand up for what she believed in and was unafraid to fight for what she thought was important.

Mikaela said that seeing the rising sea levels in her beloved Jamaica was the trigger that caused her to focus on climate change, and she realised that all of the issues in the world are interrelated. She suddenly understood that fighting for people’s rights was intertwined with the fight for climate justice. She told the children how she had taken the UK government to court for focusing more on money than people’s lives, through their funding of fossil fuel companies.

The children were inspired to hear how they could become involved in the tackling the climate crisis and Mikaela told them how they could be lawyers, designers, musicians, cooks, social media gurus and more, in their efforts to help. When asked what kept her committed and inspired to continue in her fight, she said that her ancestors in Jamaica had fought to be free from being enslaved and that if they had the courage and passion to do that, then she could do her bit today.