From eco-fatigue to eco-action: How local conservation can re-ignite the fight

Megan McCubbin, a zoologist, conservationist, and science communicator can be best recognised from her time on our screens co-hosting Animal Park and Springwatch. Kieran Murnane caught up with her to discuss the challenge of eco-fatigue and how environmentalists can be spurred on by looking local rather than global

As I start our video call, I am joined by Megan McCubbin who is dialling in from the Cairngorms National Park, an area she spends her time when not in the New Forest. I begin by asking McCubbin about the climate and biodiversity emergency, which is unfortunately an all too obvious starting point when speaking to an environmentalist these days.

I am particularly interested in her thoughts on the mental toll of these phenomena and the increasing emergence of eco-anxiety and eco-fatigue. Eco-anxiety is defined by the American Psychology Association as “the chronic fear of environmental cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change”. Eco-fatigue is lesser known. It is a regression of eco-anxiety into the belief that climate and ecological breakdown have surpassed a point where our efforts will make a difference.

“It feels too daunting because it is too daunting”, McCubbin tells me. “The more you know about climate change and biodiversity losses, the more stressful it can be. Often the people who know the most about these issues are the ones most at risk of eco-anxiety and eco-fatigue because they know how significant it is”.

McCubbin describes how protest groups like Extinction Rebellion are “portrayed as uneducated hippies”, a depiction McCubbin rejects. Many of these activists are academics, she tells me. “There are professors in climate change acting because they are genuinely frightened of what is to come”.

This leads McCubbin on to add another term to our collection, eco-ignorance. She sees this as the tendency to scroll past or ignore the shocking news that we see relating to the climate and biodiversity crises on a weekly or even a daily basis. “Ignorance is no longer bliss”, she tells me. “The longer we ignore these issues, the longer they increase in severity. The misconception that climate change is only affecting the global south is slowly decreasing. Within the UK we are now seeing an increase in extreme heat episodes and flooding events”.

Find your why

These challenges seem insurmountable. But McCubbin has a message to those who feel overwhelmed. She encourages us to find why we became environmentalists in the first place. “Was it the butterflies in the garden? Was it the robins you could hear outside? Or maybe your local patch of woodland?”. Find your why and have it to focus on it when you hear a new scary statistic about climate change or global biodiversity loss, she tells us.

“I go outside and enjoy the nature that is around me. The recent Wild Isles series has shown that, despite the UK being one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, we still have so much left to fight for”, she tells us.

When it comes to that fight, McCubbin speaks candidly. I ask her what hope we can retain. “Remember that there are loads of similar minded people out there who will fight tooth and nail for this. I will fight until the last robin if I have to”, she explains.

And perhaps this is the kind of palpable, bottom-up approach we need to take to stay motivated. McCubbin has more ideas for how we can protect both nature and our wellbeing, “If you have a windowsill, start with your windowsill. If you’ve got a garden, start with the garden.”

“Talk to your neighbours. Ask them how they would feel about a hedgehog highway? Would they let you put a swift box on their wall? And don’t forget about connectivity. Think about how you can connect your garden to other wildlife spaces”. McCubbin is in her element here. These local wildlife initiatives are clearly her bread and butter.

Neurodiversity

These are not the only reforms McCubbin wants to see in the UK. She recounts being diagnosed as dyslexic at the age of seven and the struggle she experienced as a neurodivergent student. “The UK school system of the late 90s and early 2000s highlighted neurodivergent people very quickly. I stuck out like a sore thumb!”, she says. “Reading out loud was like trying to climb Everest on roller skates, it just didn’t work and there was a reason for that”.

The difficulty experienced by McCubbin led to her being discouraged from the core subjects of Maths, English and Science. The latter of which being extremely important in McCubbin’s future path as a zoologist. She hopes for more targeted support for children today.

Despite these setbacks, McCubbin’s perspective changed at age 12 when she met four rescued tigers at the Isle of Wight Zoo. Her interactions with these animals over subsequent weekends and summers inspired her to get into conservation. And her desire to make a better life for wildlife led her to study Zoology at university.

Despite many of the real and perceived limitations associated with neurodiversity, McCubbin can focus on the benefits. Dyslexia has enabled her to bring a different perspective when working on conservation challenges.

She finds her dyslexia particularly useful in her science communication activities. She transforms complex environmental issues into more digestible formats for the wider public. McCubbin is clearly a believer that neurodiverse people, and the unique talents they have, are a key part of the fight against climate and ecological disaster.

The bigger picture

It is clear throughout our conversation that McCubbin’s focus is not only on what we can do, but what leaders should be doing too. “We need to start flipping the mirror on the big corporations and governments and ask what are they doing? Big business and governments are moving too slowly.”

“The most powerful thing we as individuals have is our voice, to try and influence them”. She urges us to contact our local MP’s, call out unsustainable practices at work and keep pushing for more fundamental changes.

Environmental laws need to be more flexible so that they can be driven and updated by the latest advances in science, she tells us. And we have a shared concern around the proposed plans in the UK to drop environmental legislation inherited from our time in the EU. McCubbin reminds me of one positive to come out of these announcements. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including the National Trust, Wildlife Trusts and others are “finding their voice and using it”, which McCubbin is very excited about.

Coming full-circle, McCubbin is very much focused on the importance of giving a voice to people working at a local-scale. Her first book, An Atlas of Endangered Species, came out in May. The book introduces 20 animal species that are on the brink of extinction, highlighting the stories of the scientists and rangers who work with these animals on the front line.

Her aim? To make people feel connected to these animals and empower them to take more action related to conservation. And to ensure the book is inclusive, particularly to those with dyslexia, through the consideration of font, text size and colour. In the words of Chris Packham, the book is “an antidote to eco-anxiety”.

In the face of daunting challenges, McCubbin’s overall message is one of hope and empowerment. If this is one that resonates with you, you can find her on the latest series of Animal Park, at the Global Gala for Rhinos at the Royal Geographical Society or promoting her new book.

This story was first published in The Environment magazine in Sept 2023