Mya-Rose Shanti Craig (born 7 May 2002), also known as Birdgirl, is an English birdwatcher and writer.

Early life and education

Craig was born in Bristol[1] to English father Chris, an engineer, and Bangladeshi mother Helena Ahmed, a lawyer,[2] and grew up in Compton Martin, Somerset.[3] She attended Chew Valley School.[4] In June 2024, she graduated with a degree in Human, Social and Political Sciences from St John's College, Cambridge.[5]

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.[6] Her first newspaper column "Birding Tales" was published in the Chew Valley Gazette when she was 12.[7]

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.[5] As her platform grew, she found herself wanting to explore topics beyond birds. By June 2022, the blog had attracted 6 million views.[8]

Activism

Craig was a "Bristol 2015 Ambassador" during the city's year as European Green Capital.[9] In 2018, she contributed to Chris Packham's A People’s Manifesto for Wildlife and was enlisted as the manifesto’s "minister of diversity".[10] Craig campaigned with Greta Thunberg at the Youth Strike 4 Climate event in Bristol in February 2020.[11] She has organized conferences featuring celebrity nature enthusiasts such as Bill Oddie, Chris Packham, and RSPB chief executive Beccy Speight.[12]

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.[13] That same month, she joined the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' (RSPB) advisory committee, becoming its youngest member.[14]

Awards and recognitions

In 2018, Craig won the National Biodiversity Network's Gilbert White Youth Award for recording terrestrial and freshwater wildlife.[15]

In February 2020, Craig received an honorary doctorate in science (DSc hc) from the University of Bristol.[16]

In June 2023, Craig was awarded The Muslim News's Malcolm X Young Person’s Award for Excellence.[17] That year, she was also selected as a National Geographic Society Young Explorer.[18]

Craig's first book, We Have a Dream, was nominated for Discover Book of the Year at the British Book Awards 2022.[19] In March 2023, she was longlisted for the 2023 Jhalak Prize for her memoir, Birdgirl,[20] which was also longlisted for the 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize.[21] 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.[22]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Head, Ally (28 September 2023). "8 Gen Z climate activists to follow now that aren't Greta Thunberg". Marie Claire UK. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  2. ^ Cannariato, Nicholas (15 August 2023). "Mya-Rose Craig's Search for Family Amid an Extraordinary Life of World Birding". Audubon. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  3. ^ Vines Booth, Mia (3 May 2023). "'Birdgirl' Mya-Rose joins National Geographic's Young Explorers". Bristol 247. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  4. ^ "The One Show's Mike Dilger and Birdgirl join forces – Agri-hub". 20 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Why Dr Mya-Rose Craig is flying in the face of convention". Red Bull. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Bristol 2015 Ambassadors | Bristol 2015 - European Green Capital". 14 November 2015. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  10. ^ Bourke, India (26 September 2018). "Springwatch host Chris Packham's radical quest to end "the war on wildlife"". New Statesman. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Youngest person to birdwatch on all continents (female)". Guinness World Records.
  14. ^ "'Birdgirl' joins RSPB committee as youngest member". BBC. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Winners of the 2018 UK Awards for Biological Recording and Information Sharing Announced!". National Biodiversity Network. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  16. ^ "'Birdgirl' Mya-Rose Craig receives Bristol University honorary doctorate". BBC News. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  17. ^ "The Muslim News Awards for Excellence: 2023 winners". The Muslim News. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  18. ^ "Introducing the National Geographic Society's 2023 Young Explorers". news.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  19. ^ "Sally Rooney and Julia Donaldson among nominees for British Book Awards 2022". The Argus. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  20. ^ "2023". Jhalak Prize. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Women dominate James Cropper Wainwright Prize longlist as prize pot increased". The Bookseller. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  22. ^ "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2024 presented by Viking". Stanford's.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mya-Rose_Craig
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