“We don't need more forests; we need more real forests!” : A study about youths’ motivations and experiences protecting forests from deforestation in Sweden

Sammanfattning: In Sweden today, the forestry industry is criticized by environmental activist networks and organizations for using clear-cutting to harvest forests, which causes great harm to biodiverse-rich forests. Although youth voices are less represented in environmental politics, they find ways to affect these through their engagement in social movements. While current research focuses on global environmental movements, there is a lack of in-depth studies about environmental youth movements on a local scale. This study aims to understand youths’ motivations and experiences in protecting forests from deforestation within a Swedish environmental organization. Moreover, this study looks closely at youths’ strategies, what opportunities and obstacles they face, and how their engagement affects them. For this qualitative study, eight individual semi-structured interviews, combined with a participant observation, were conducted. The data was analyzed by using thematic analysis, where six themes were constructed. My results show that the organization is not solely focused on activism or opposition. Rather it provides them with companionship, fun, and learning – combined with activism, which helps them cope with eco-anxieties. Instead of taking the fight for climate justice to the streets, they inventory forests, use civil disobedience, educate, and inspire others to become engaged. In conclusion, the fact that this is a youth organization provides a community that empowers and encourages youth to feel included and express their environmental agency.