Making Caring About the Environment Fashionable
As with many people in the Environmental field, my career path has stemmed from my deeply rooted love for nature and unbridled interest in understanding natural ecosystems.
As far back as I can remember, I loved animals, plants, and trees — really anything that was outdoors and wild. Simply put, I was fascinated by the natural world.
My interest was magnified when I spent a summer holiday in Coventry with my grandparents. Even though I was only four years old I remember so vividly the fresh air, birds singing, woodlands, ponds, and open green spaces.
It seemed a world away from my Southeast London Council Estate environs of passed-out vagrants, smashed street lights, racist graffiti, broken bottles, burnt-out cars, and boarded-up windows.
As I got older, I comprehended that Environmental matters were of little significance in 80s London; Margaret Thatcher had declared that there was no such thing as society and no one understood that more than the inner-city populaces that bore the brunt of a broken nation.
Sadly this was an era of ceaseless environmental ignorance and I found that most of my peers were content to watch the world go by, detached from the conservation and ecological issues plaguing our environment.
Having failed miserably in the school system it was my avid interest in Environmental issues that led me back to the academic arena and to my choices to undertake a degree in Environmental Biology and a Master's degree in Environmental Planning and Management.
My corporate policies and actions are designed to reduce carbon footprint, give back to the community and encourage the protection of the environment.
Outside of business, I volunteer with a number of schools, colleges, and universities providing careers guidance, CV & interview technique workshops, and conducting mock interviews with those looking to embark on a career within the environmental sector.
I also offer work experience programs and opportunities at Buckingham Futures for students, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to help achieve their potential by giving them an insight into the world of environmental work.
From my voluntary experience of working with schools, colleges and universities, when asked, the vast majority of young people nowadays do care immensely for the environment and, indeed, the future of our planet.
The online realm is a great place for young person to start their journey to become environmental leaders. They have at their fingertips the phenomenon that is social media to inspire others through their encounters in nature or fanning the flames of action through motivational outpourings.
On social media young people can join local environmental groups where they will be offered numerous volunteering opportunities such as eradication of invasive species, raising money, leading nature walks and digging ditches.
They could correspondingly proposition local newspapers to offer their views on topical environmental issues, write to their MP to express concern on green issues, or, for those with a particular knack for literature, submit a piece to a popular magazine or mainstream newspaper as the written word has the power to inspire inquisitiveness, intrigue, and commitment that can lead to change.
It’s not just about speaking to the people in charge. Talk to your friends, neighbours, and colleagues and get them to make positive changes too.
My advice to future environmental leaders would be to raise a clamour, educate, inspire, or take up a placard. Action is always better than inaction, and whatever they do, however small, will contribute to a brighter future for the environment.
Looking after the planet might not have been at the forefront of everyone’s minds, but it’s still something that we need to give focus to – especially when there are lots of small things we can do to easily help.
Together we can make a change!