Name: Larch Maxey Age: 46 Income: £0 Occupation: Full-time volunteer with Extinction Rebellion

I’m on a year’s sabbatical, and volunteering full-time with Extinction Rebellion. I’ve always been interested the environment and social justice – I have a PhD in sustainability and was a geography lecturer and post-doctoral researcher for 17 years – and I’ve been a climate-change activist for 25 years. During 1994-5 I lived up a tree for a year as part of the No M65 campaign in Lancashire, which I co-founded. For me that was all about the climate and ecological emergency; I’ve waited 25 years for a movement like Extinction Rebellion (XR) that uses the science of social change so effectively.

I met XR at Offgrid Festival last August, and was won over by their focus on system change. The next week I brought XR to the Sunrise festival. Suddenly I was helping out on evenings and weekends, fitting in volunteering around my two jobs as co-founder of a wellbeing charity and co-director of Bright Green Futures, a social enterprise creating eco self-build communities.

The turning point came when I was arrested for obstruction on Soutwark bridge and spent nine hours in a police cell

I took two weeks’ annual leave to volunteer full time with XR in November, but the turning point came when I was unexpectedly arrested for obstruction of the highway on Southwark bridge on 17 November and spent nine hours in a police cell.

It gave me the chance to really reflect on my life and priorities. I saw what’s important to me and felt deep regret at not having spent the last 25 years addressing climate chaos full time. I know I was doing the best I could, and I had two kids to prioritise. Now they’re adults and this incredibly effective vehicle that is XR has come along, it became clear to me that I needed to go on sabbatical. I knew now was the time to make a difference before the threat to our existence deepens and leads to societal collapse. We only have this year to start bringing emissions down. But it really is possible if enough people join us.

I work about 14 hours, six days a week with Extinction Rebellion. My role involves helping develop and implement our strategy and ideas for actions, and linking up with international groups. This is my life’s purpose, and I couldn’t be happier and more fulfilled. I’m happy to spend every waking moment bringing this change about.

I’m currently living off my savings. I have just applied for living expenses through XR and requested £600 a month. No one gets a salary with XR. We don’t ask for the amount we’d like, but how much we need. I have savings as I’ve always saved since I was a child, even if there was nothing particular to save for. A dilemma for me has been digging into savings I’d hoped to give my children, aged 20 and 18, money towards a deposit for a home. But if we don’t turn this emergency around, there won’t be a future.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An Extinction Rebellion protest this month in Birmingham. Photograph: Jacob King/PA

I live for free with my best friend Toby in Brixton. As well as joining XR for our big rebellions and actions, he supports XR by giving me a free room.

I’m a relaxed freegan. I keep my eyes open and look for food at every opportunity that would otherwise go to waste. Sometimes that means eating leftover food from whoever I’m hanging out with, or collecting food from a local cafe or market stall before they throw it out.

I have a flat in Totnes, where I rent a couple of rooms. My mortgage is £850 a month and is mostly covered by two lodgers. Travel sets me back about £250 a month, with most of it spent on trains to and from Totnes. Travelling by tube is expensive so I cycle around London, which I love as I get exercise and explore the city.

I do have a car that I was planning to let go of, but actually XR are going to use it for a tour of Europe, so I just spent £25 to insure someone for it.

I tend to find clothing. For example if there’s a sock on the pavement, I’ll pick it up and give it a rinse at home. I’ve just sewn up a pair of trousers. I like to repair stuff.

While lifestyle and voting can help, they’re no longer enough. We’re in an emergency and we need system change urgently. Far more important than how we vote or live is that we work together for system change and that requires mass peaceful civil disobedience. Join us.

I plan to continue working as a full-time XR volunteer until the government adopts our three demands. We need citizens’ assemblies, ordinary people deciding the policies to solve the crisis. If we don’t sort it out, our children won’t have a future.

As told to Suzanne Bearne