The people and organisations wrecking our world might wish that those opposing them simply disappear when locked up, but they don’t. Life gets harder behind bars – prisons are crumbling and everything, from getting food to sending letters, is a struggle. But life doesn’t just stop. Far from it.
Here are three short stories about four inspiring people Climate Action Support Pathway is supporting through prison…

Rosa has been locked up since her arrest in August 2024 under suspicion of being connected to a Just Stop Oil action at Heathrow Airport. During her four months at the notoriously uncaring HMP Bronzefield, Rosa has become a Listener. Listeners are the prison-equivalent of the Samaritans, on call around the clock to help those around them resist suicide or self-harm.
Rosa has also been giving maths lessons, organising classes of five of her fellow inmates. Though it’s been tiring work, she’s now got students passing their exams.

And then there’s Larch. Behind bars since September 2024 on a three-year sentence for tunnelling under roads with Just Stop Oil, Larch just did a 10km charity run and raised £50 from his fellow prisoners for the NHS in Leicester. But that’s not all. He’s been working to repair old tech and ripped clothes for those around him, and he’s been taking the bumbling bureaucracy to task, chasing staff up to get inmates new keys to secure their cells from being messed with in pranks.
Thinking about the injustice of dozens of people locked away for demanding climate action is angering and upsetting. Those emotions are important – they drive us forward in this struggle we share with those in prison. But equally important are these stories of joy, service to others and, above all, the refusal to be repressed.

As Margaret, another Just Stop Oil supporter on remand since August 2024, says…
“The prison system is alarmingly dysfunctional. We make the most of the things that work, however, and create our own small happinesses. We’re on friendly terms with the prison ducks, crows, pigeons and squirrels that we see out of the window, and wake every morning to the sound of trees moving in the breeze.
My roommates and I are on a dedicated crochet mission at the moment (what dangerous criminals we are!). I’ve found myself teaching people, despite only having basic skills myself, and we’ve enjoyed working out new patterns (currently on flower garlands and holly wreaths).”
“I’m feeling extremely fortunate to be able to go to the art class, although I simply cannot seem to produce anything that doesn’t have an extremely strong whiff of resistance to it. But really, resistance feels like the only thing that matters at the moment and being in prison does not make a jot of difference to that.”