Crafty climate campaigners have been partly inspired by Norwich’s links to the canary to hold a ‘stitch-in’ protest where they made handcrafted birds.
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Members of Golden Triangle Girls WI dressed in canary yellow capes and outfits to flock to a colourful event overlooking the city in front of the Britannia Barracks on Mousehold Heath.
Taking part in a national Canary Craftivists project they came armed with yellow fabrics and craft supplies ready to make the stitched canaries which they plan to send to Norfolk MPs as part of a ‘gentle protest’ highlighting climate change.
Stacey Armes, of Golden Triangle Girls WI, said: “When we heard about this national campaign we wanted to get involved, especially as it involved making canaries.
“Canaries, of course, have a two-fold meaning for us in Norwich because not only are we thinking about the canary being the symbol of the city but also that canaries are traditionally the canary in the coal mine, a warning sign.
“At this time with what is happening to the climate we wanted to do something and we will be sending these little canaries to our MPs to take up the issue on our behalf.”
Norwich's connection with canaries goes back hundreds of years and brings in the story of refugees fleeing religious persecution, a once-thriving export business, oh, and a certain football club.
Making them was the perfect way to protest without shouting at people, said Stacey.
“There is something about crafting that engages the head, heart and hands. Your hands are busy, your hearts in it and your head is thinking about the issues while you’re doing it,” she said.
The Canary Craftivists project comes ahead of the UN Climate Conference COP26 attended by world leaders that is being held in Glasgow this November hosted by the UK government.
Fiona Dear, head of campaigns at The Climate Coalition, said: “It’s so important to show our politicians and the diversity and scale of support for protecting the things we love from climate change.
“The Canary Craftivists project brilliantly captures imaginations. Strikingly visual, unusual and memorable, these beautiful yellow canaries are a vital way of engaging politicians’ hearts and minds in a powerfully gentle way.”
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