Katharine Lewis

Katharine Lewis is a mother and early years teacher. Having spent her entire adult life avoiding standing up and speaking in public, she now finds herself doing exactly this. It is amazing how far a climate emergency will take you out of your comfort zone! But this is exactly what we need to do now – this is what an emergency asks of us all.

Katharine teaches in a little eco school in Cornwall, where children spend most of the day outdoors in nature. She established a climate action group in her town following her local council’s climate emergency declaration, and helped write a local climate action plan which has inspired many other communities across Cornwall. Katharine organised a Climate Crisis Conversations workshop for parents, teachers and counsellors in her local community with Caroline Hickman and Jo McAndrews and is working to become a UN accredited climate change teacher.

Despite all she has learned, Katharine still finds these conversations difficult, and has to leave her grief at the school gate most days so she can be there for the children.