Ray Mears tells teenage eco-zealots to 'relax and enjoy' nature trends now
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Survival expert Ray Mears has said teenage eco-warriors are not saving the planet and should stop blaming the older generation for climate issues.
The TV presenter, 59, said he is impressed by the enthusiasm of 'vocal teenagers' in their plight to combat climate change, but said they also need to learn to just 'relax' and 'enjoy' nature.
Mears, who famously used his bushcraft skills to track down gunman Raoul Moat, said youngsters need to realise that it was the older generation who 'opened the discussion'.
'I'm really encouraged by their enthusiasm and their determination to improve the world, but we must also teach them to relax a little bit and enjoy it,' he told the Hay Festival.
'Many people the same age as me, we get the blame from teenagers, and we need to remind them that actually we inherited many of these problems ourselves and this is a new dialogue we're talking about.
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'Things that 40 years ago nobody was talking about, so we've actually opened the discussion.
'We've opened the door and we've advanced the knowledge we're handing on to them. We are not the problem - we are part of the solution.'
He continued: 'We need to just loosen up a bit. Nature recovers. I'm often torn by teenagers
