Tamsin Omond (they/them) Profile picture
Trans, nb nature lover and author.

Sep 22, 2021, 16 tweets

Our campaign team suggested I write a thread about work I've done on climate. Honestly, where to begin? Since leaving university in 2007 I've been at the forefront of the environmental movement, leading groups that have transformed the national debate. First up @planestupid -1/16

Following the Commons action which made Heathrow Airport's third runway front page news for the first time, I worked alongside anti-aviation leader @HACAN1 in the @StopHeathrowExp coalition. I organised West London communities to oppose the airport and this huge protest - 2/16

There were so many more moments in those early days of the campaign against Heathrow's expansion (and all the organising that I led as part of that campaign) but - this thread could be a book and that's not what twitter is for so, let's move on to @ClimateRush - 3/16

@ClimateRush means a lot to me. We launched in 2008, led by women & nb people, bringing media attention to climate by organising a movement of suffragette inspired civil disobedience. This film tells some of the story (spot @CarolineLucas's cameo!) vimeo.com/8257143 - 4/16

My work as co-founder of Climate Rush was where I first got to know @TheGreenParty. It was so inspiring that Green politicians would support our protests, not just with words, but with deeds. Caroline Lucas, time and again, gave us enormous strength with presence & support -5/16

With Green Party help Climate Rush grew beyond London. We never became the global movement that I later helped organise in @ExtinctionR - but GP people grew Climate Rush groups in Cambridge (thank you @ElisabethJane) and Bristol (spot @carla_denyer in @ClimateRushBris) - 6/16

Final tweet on Climate Rush is all the work we did on #CleanAir (thank you @CarolineRussell for reminding me) that so brilliantly fed into and was supported by Green Party members and politicians (spot @natalieben and @GreenJennyJones who joined - ) - 7/16

I published my first book (RUSH, the making of a climate activist) and became a trusted voice in the media- defending protest on Sky News, championing Greens on Newsnight, getting teased by @RealDMitchell and supporting @GreenpeaceUK and the heroic Arctic 30 (to name a few) -8/16

It was around this time that Mark Constantine (founder of @LushLtd) headhunted me to become Head of Global Campaigns at Lush. I've a track record on building movements & winning campaigns across the social justice landscape but this thread is for climate - so I will focus. 9/16

Working with @FollowWestwood we created a product which raised £100,000s for anti-fracking campaigns. As a movement strategist I understood that local campaigns needed money so created a source of funds that fuelled the movement. Of course I also stayed on the front lines..-10/16

This thread is just a whisper of the extraordinary conversations & movements I've been a part of. There's a lot I'm leaving out, but I can't leave out the intersectional strength of coalition between @StopCityAirport, @HACANEast & @momentumprojekt #reindeersnotplanesdear - 11/16

London City Airport is a symbol of climate injustice. It serves a tiny elite whilst crushing local people who are young, poor, the most diverse in the UK. The campaign against it brought me to Newham. Here's some of what we did with @momentumprojekt 12/16

And then most recently - a founding member of @ExtinctionR. This story deserves more than a handful of tweets, including as it does such wondrous folk as @GretaThunberg, @farhanaclimate, @ClareTotty, @AedyAlice, @JackHarries & so many others I've worked with over the years. 13/16

The organising that took place to enable this movement to grow was dispersed amongst so many committed & brilliant people. Huge lessons have been learnt, both by XR and by me - a white person working in the climate space. But alongside those lessons we've won big victories. 14/16

The @UKParliament's declaration of climate emergency or the creation of @CEEbill_NOW - which began with XR activists & is now a Party focus. I'm not one to claim victories for the work of a movement, but I was there helping deliver the strategy that led to these moments - 15/16

Throughout my life I've organised movements that have pushed green & social justice issues and shaped the mainstream. @TheGreenParty leadership election can be one such moment. We've an enormous opportunity to change the future. @Amelia_Womack and I are ready to lead. 16/16

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