The Climate and I. How Ecological Thinking becomes Ecological Practice.

Abstract

The Young Climate Movement [JKB] aims to reduce the impact of climate change and the ecological footprint of Dutch society. Since 2016, their membership has grown exponentially from a handful of young people to over seventy young volunteers. The working groups On Tour and GROW raise awareness for the JKB. Through their rights and duties as ecological citizens they inform, inspire and motivate other young people to fight against climate change. In this thesis, the personal and public ecological practices of ecological citizens acts as a catalyst for undergoing different stages of environmentalism before and during involvement in a social movement. This thesis argues that deciding which personal and public ecological practices fit into one’s daily life triggers different processes of meaning-making. Social movement theories previously argued that belonging within a collective identity is the main reason for membership. This thesis claims that meaning-making processes of a new encountered narrative is at the foundation of all involvement in a social climate movement.