A new collective of writers shares here their campaign. Read on to find out how you can get involved:
Welcome aboard paperboats. We are a collective of writers focussed on nature and environment in a time of climate and ecological breakdown. We are Scotland based and global in outlook and write to affirm the astonishing life of this planet.
The urge to explore and celebrate all the kinds of lives of Planet Earth is stronger than ever, but the environmental and ecological crisis demands we also lift our eyes, and our voices, to species extinction and habitat loss, to what is happening to the forests and hills, the rivers and seas, our streets and gardens. The writer’s instinct to pay attention has never been more vital. Literature can help us to see the natural world – and our place in it – differently.
PAPERBOATS ZINE
Read Issue One, August 2023: This is what the world was like, featuring Chris Powici, Kathleen Jamie, Polly Pullar, Leonie Charlton and Karen Lloyd.
Paperboats came together as folk with a loose connection to Stirling University but we welcome writers from across Scotland and beyond. We aim to raise a diversity of voices on the climate crisis and we are particularly keen to hear from under-represented groups and those on the frontlines of the climate emergency.
PAPERBOATS CAMPAIGN
In response to the failure of our global and national leaders to take meaningful and serious action on climate change, we are making a flotilla, a navy perhaps, of paperboats as a warning shot across the bows of current and future political leaders. If they fail to take serious and sustained action on climate change, they will no longer have our support. Join us.
here’s how it works
1. Find a second-hand book or old magazine that symbolises something important to you.
2. Cut out the pages and fold them into paperboats. There are instructions and ‘how to’ videos online, but feel free to be creative.
3. Write the story of your paperboats – perhaps a sentence or two either about the book or magazine you chose and why, what climate change means for you personally, or what worries you most about climate breakdown.
4. Once you have made a small flotilla of paperboats, send one to each of your elected representatives: MPs, MSPs and local councillors. Include the story of your paperboat and let them know that they will no longer have your support if they fail to take decisive and rapid action to tackle the climate emergency on a global, national or local scale.
5. You can also send one to your bank, building society or pension scheme, to ask them to stop funding fossil fuels. Send them to climate champions too as a thank you. Feel free to be creative.
6. Finally, we’d love it if you could take a photo of your boats, perhaps somewhere outdoors, and share the pictures on social media. You can tag us at @paperboatswriters on Instagram, and @paperboatswrite on Twitter. You can also tag us using the hashtags #paperboats and #wewillrise.
We are aiming to fold a thousand paperboats to set afloat outside the Scottish Parliament in November 2023, prior to COP28.
Happy Folding!
