‘Knagging’ the government into action
Bayview grandmother Felicity Davis is a passionate environmentalist. Originally from England, she made Australia her home in 1969.
Her husband, John, a filmmaker and environmental campaigner, died tragically in a helicopter accident in 2015, and Felicity vowed to carry on campaigning after his death.
She was first introduced to the Knitting Nannas at a mining protest at Maules Creek, in northern NSW.
“There was this bunch of ladies outside the (local) court knitting,” says Felicity. “They said to me, ‘Do you want to do some knitting?’ And I said ‘sure’ because I used to do a lot of knitting. And that’s how the knitting started.”
Knitting Nannas Against Gas and Greed (KNAG) began in 2012 when older women joined an anti-coal group in Lismore. Small groups set up their folding chairs with flasks of tea and began knitting to pass the time as they kept an eye on the mining company truck movements. There are now over 40 KNAG ‘loops’ mainly in Australia, but some in the USA and UK too.
Jill (far right) and the Nannas met Rory Amon
The group’s Nannafesto states: “We want to leave this land no worse than when we found it, for our children and grandchildren.” To the peaceful protestors, this is ‘craftivism’.
Felicity and other Pittwater Knitting Nannas have a presence in Mona Vale, Narrabeen or Dee Why on Fridays. They have a big yellow Knitting Nannas sign and a table full of information on issues such as fracking, gas and native forest logging.
The Nannas get a mix of people at their table. Many already know the issues the earth faces, but some, Jill says, think the Nannas ‘should go back to burning candles, and they keep walking’.
“Most people are very receptive to us,” says fellow Nanna Jill Cobby from Avalon. Jill joined Felicity after watching the environmental documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
“It just really clicked with me,” says Jill. “I joined Knitting Nannas because I believe if you do nothing, nothing happens. If you do something, you might get somewhere.”
Sometimes, you will find them setting up outside a local politician’s office – they recently visited Pittwater MP Rory Amon.
“We asked him to take our concerns to parliament,” says Jill. “We are waiting to see if we get a response back, but he said all the right things, and he was friendly.”
“But he is young,” added Felicity.
The Nannas have also positioned themselves outside banks who they say are funding coal mining.
“I think our debate, which is very topical just at the moment, is the use of nuclear energy,” says Felicity. “Whilst it’s not a fossil fuel, it’s not a renewable energy either. It will take too long to build and cost billions. Some people are really hooked on nuclear, but we don’t need it in this country because we’ve got the best natural resources in the world, like wind and solar.”
Felicity adds: “They’ve got to really step up the renewable energy.”
At a local level, Felicity thinks more community batteries would be good.
Jill agrees: “Many people have solar panels, but they’re getting too much in the middle of the day. So they’re trying to stop people sending their electricity to the grid because they’re getting overwhelmed.
“But it really needs to go into batteries. Then they can use it in the evening.”
The Nannas are united by a sense of optimism with shared goals and ideals, striving for change.
“Being with other like-minded people, we can complain about everything that’s happened during the week. We all listen to each other and agree with each other.
“If you haven’t got hope, you’re doomed,” says Jill. “You’ve got to try and make a change and provide hope to other people.”