A young woman was told by her own family that her hobby was “a white people thing”.
Mya-Rose Craig, 22, is the youngest birdwatcher in the world to have spotted 5,000 species.
The British-Bangladeshi woman first rose to prominence at age 11 with her blog “birdgirl”.
She has called for more inclusion as she revealed it was “accepted” years ago that Asian and Black people did not engage with nature.
The British-Bangladeshi woman first rose to prominence at age 11 with her blog “birdgirl”
Speaking on the RSPCA’s Animal Futures podcast, Craig shared how her Asian side of the family would describe her love for birdwatching as “a white people thing”.
She now campaigns to change these ingrained beliefs.
She said: "I'm half Bangladeshi, my mum's Bangladeshi, and growing up, I basically never saw anyone that looked like us out in nature, out in the countryside - and that was always kind of the accepted reality.
"You had people in environmental spheres going like, 'oh, you know, there are just certain types of people that won't engage with nature."
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She described how she knew her family was wrong, but could not say anything to change their minds.
At only 17, Craig was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Bristol after becoming the youngest birdwatcher in the world to spot 5,000 different species.
In 2016, she founded the charity Black2Nature, which aimed to encourage children and families from minority backgrounds to connect with nature.
She also organises trips to the countryside for young children in inner city areas, sharing her passion for wildlife, birds and green spaces.
Craig was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Bristol after becoming the youngest birdwatcher in the world to spot 5,000 different species
She said: "I went into the city, and I kind of spent time talking to people in the community - Black and Asian communities - explaining why they should be interested.
"And - long story short - I did, and it went really well, and they all kind of came away with some relationship with nature."
The 22-year-old spoke about the importance of people from every community to have their say and get involved, adding that animals play an important role in people’s lives.
“If large swathes of society choose not to get involved in conversations like this, then I fear there'll continue to be large parts of our population who potentially feel disconnected from nature and animals," she added.
