Toqueer is a determined climate and social justice campaigner who has volunteered for organisations including Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust, faith and climate charity Footsteps, Friends of the Earth and coalition of community groups Retrofit Balsall Heath.
He encouraged inner city communities and underrepresented groups to use the Wildlife Trust’s Eco Park in Small Heath, including a scout troop based at nearby Al-Hijrah Mosque, who had previously been travelling long distances for outdoor activities. For Footsteps, an interfaith project set up under Birmingham Council of Faiths, he was a vital connector with Muslim communities across Birmingham, introducing faith leaders and worshippers to the group, liaising with faith leaders and decision-makers to promote energy saving practices, and getting mosques involved with Project 4F which conducted energy assessments of places of worship.
For Birmingham Friends of the Earth, he took the message around reducing waste and recycling to minority communities, spoke to community radio about the charity’s campaigns and was involved in fundraising, event organising and hands-on environmental work.
Other engagements have included working as a community researcher for Birmingham City University, investigating community need for green spaces in Bordesley Green, and serving on a task force on climate resilience for the British Red Cross. Toqueer was made a community judge for the West Midlands combined authority natural es
Toqueer tirelessly attends, supports and volunteers at climate and environment-focused events in Birmingham and the region, offering the perspective of minority and economically disadvantaged Brummies, which is often missing or marginalised in these discussions.
When asked about what inspired their activism, Toqueer says:
“I was inspired by my faith as a Muslim and also by my appreciation for nature and the environment. I wanted to make a positive difference.”
