Collectively, the women here have helped shape the local discourse on saving the environment through their social media activism — whether that means fronting a Gen Z-led movement asking for collective action for climate justice or speaking up for marine conservation. In the lead-up to Earth Day on April 22, we chat with them to ask what changing mindsets and implementing change when it comes to protecting the environment is actually like.
Designer Audrey Yang is a fixture in Singapore’s environmental activist circles. After all, she’s been creating content on her Instagram since 2018, covering sustainability-related issues such as recycling and repurposing, and sharing sustainable business practices. Earlier this year, Yang held her first ever plus-sized fashion swap in the offline space, in a bid to do more for the plus-sized community by providing alternative and sustainable fashion options that are generally hard to access.
Was there any moment, or wake up call, that sparked your passion for the environment?
“People often assume that there must have been an event or a book or something that ‘sparked’ my journey as a sustainability advocate, but the truth is, there wasn’t. It was the gradual accumulation of knowledge, increase in self-awareness and my skills as a visual communicator that led me down the advocacy path. It is difficult to stay put and stay silent as I learn more about the interconnectedness of all living beings and the threats we are facing.”
How has your creative background shaped the environmental issues you’re most concerned about?
“My creative background gives me the ability to amplify messages in clear and engaging ways to allow people to understand and to keep them interested. It is hard to pinpoint a single issue because everything is connected. Take fast fashion for example — it is not just about (i) overproduction, but also (ii) what and how materials are sourced, (iii) what the manufacturing process looks like, (iv) how products are packaged and (v) how are they shipped etc. The fashion industry touches upon the petrochemical industry (clothes that contain plastic), agriculture industry (cotton, wool etc.), manufacturing, packaging, logistics and retail — each with its own set of environmental issues.
That is also why I share topics that are broad and relevant to everyday people. The goal is to get people to recognise that they have a stake in this, and everyone as privileged or more privileged than I am should do something. We cannot expect marginalised people to fight climate change when they don’t have the same resources and ability as we do.”
How would you describe your approach to environmental education on social media?
“Social media is useful for sharing bite-sized information that reaches the masses. My approach is to make my content approachable, clear and simple. I also encourage my audience to read further into a topic by sharing long-form resources on the link in my bio, or do more explanatory posts on my IG stories for quick downloads. My way of sharing evolves as I go along.”
What keeps you going in the work that you do to raise awareness on climate change?
“My work goes beyond raising awareness, it exists to inspire action for a better world. My community of earth-loving people keeps me going. They all contribute in their own ways — marine conservation, reducing food waste, litter-picking, repurposing plastic, providing platforms for slow fashion, conducting workshops and talks for corporations and the public etc. It means a lot to know I am not alone in this journey and that it is not blind optimism that we can turn this around. There is climate anxiety, but also climate joy.
Another thing is when the government consults with environmentalists while developing policies and systems. There is value in what we do and it is heartening that people with power recognise that.
Lastly, it is the positive changes that I witness in my daily life from those around me — family, friends, colleagues and even people from the internet. It takes time but it works. It just has to work faster at a larger scale, with the support of governments and giant corporations.”
In the long run, what are some green changes you hope to see in the fashion industry?
“I would like to see the fashion industry slow down significantly, eliminate the use of virgin plastic and normalise re-wearing outfits. Produce less, improve the quality, put more focus on clothing care and train their workers to transit into greener roles. Last but not least, create safe workplaces for their garment workers and pay them fairly. People might see sustainability and human rights as separate, but they aren’t. As long as something is built off exploitation, it can never be sustainable.”
Marine conservationist Inez Alsagoff doesn’t recall a pivotal moment where she woke up to the reality of climate change. Instead, her gradual exposure to documentaries stoked her passion in marine life. It wasn’t long before she grew concerned about the planet’s health as a whole. Now, her passion for the environment has become an entire lifestyle: She cleans the oceans in her day job with ocean impact organisation Seven Clean Seas; guides folks around Singapore’s intertidal zones; and runs her small business, Beachcombers, where she upcycles discarded fishing lines collected during beach clean-ups into unique pieces of jewellery.
Where did your passion for marine biology come from?
“It was initially sparked by my love for the ocean and fascination with sharks. As a kid, I wound up watching documentaries about sharks’ fin and whale hunting and ended up scolding my family members during weddings and birthdays when they ate sharks’ fin soup. Along the way, I slowly realised that the problem is much bigger than sharks’ fin soup – it’s a whole myriad of environmental issues when it comes to the marine environment. I think that was my awakening to pursue a degree (and career) to find a way to save sharks, apart from just abstaining from their consumption.”
Why did you decide to focus on the ocean for your advocacy?
“It was barely a decision, it only felt natural to pursue a career in marine conservation. Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the ocean with my dad, who was involved in competitive water sports. My personal connection to the ocean made me realise how important it is to protect it. Additionally, my passion for marine biology and concern about the cruel practices surrounding shark and whale hunting led me to want to take action. I think people don’t realise that the ocean is a crucial part of our planet that plays a vital role in our ecosystem. Protecting the ocean not only benefits marine life, but also humans and the planet as a whole.”
How would you describe your approach to environmental advocacy on social media?
“I believe that education and social media are extremely powerful tools for spreading awareness and advocating for change. There’s a lot of science out there that nobody reads (or cares about), so through social media, we can break down scientific jargon and present it in a relatable way, to inspire people to take action. Also, living in Singapore, many people are disconnected from nature and unaware of environmental issues that affect our planet.
Social media helps to bridge the lack of knowledge and accessibility to our local natural areas. One of my favorite quotes is, ‘we can’t save what we don’t know’. With this in mind, I try to use my social platforms to increase awareness about environmental issues and promote education. I believe that the more people know and understand about the environment, the more they will be motivated to take action and make positive changes in their daily lives.
I also believe that it’s important to stay positive and focus on solutions rather than doom and gloom. While environmental issues can be daunting, there are also many positive stories and successes to share. By highlighting them and offering actionable steps that people can take to make a difference, we can motivate and empower people to become environmental advocates themselves.”
What’s your wish for the planet?
“My biggest wish is to see a world where humans and nature can coexist. It’s not just about saving the planet; it’s about respecting the planet we live on. And honestly, who wouldn’t want to live in a world where we can all surf, hike, and explore without worrying about the negative impacts of our actions?”
What keeps you going in the work that you do for our oceans?
“One of the things that keeps me going is knowing that every small action I take can make a difference. It’s so heart-warming when participants on our intertidal walks tell me that they’re inspired to do something more, or even pursue a career in sustainability. Seeing their passion and enthusiasm makes me believe that my work does have an impact.
It’s also incredibly rewarding when kids tell me they can’t wait to tell their classmates about what they saw during our walks. Knowing that I’m playing a small part in educating the next generation (who hopefully will be environmental advocates) is truly fulfilling. These little moments motivate me to continue my work and to keep spreading awareness and education about the importance of protecting our oceans.”
Neo Xiao Yun is quite the multi-hyphenate. She volunteers at the non-profit Ground-Up Initiative (GUI), a regenerative farming and nature-based community, as a farmer, nature guide, programmes facilitator, social media copywriter, and informal advisor for GUI’s future plans. She also facilitates immersive wildlife and biodiversity programmes with The Untamed Paths (TUP), and runs outdoor adventure camps for children, organise programmes, and conduct marketing, partnerships and outreach. All this and more, with whatever free time she has outside of her full-time job!
What was your environmental/climate change awakening moment?
“When I was 11, Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth shook me logically to the drastic and significant challenge of climate change, global warming, biodiversity loss, and associated disaster events. However, environmental involvement did not extend into my life beyond an intellectual understanding. I remember being unable to tell my parents why we should switch off our lights for an hour to join in the Earth Hour movement – I had no emotional impetus.
Then, an educational immersion in Bhutan when I was 17 sparked the realisation of my personal connection to the earth. I fondly recall hiking under an expanse of blue, campfires under a blanket of stars, walking by temples nestled in beautiful places, and the sight of colourful prayer flags flapping animatedly in the distance. I’m not religious, but Bhutan found and touched me deeply. It was probably my first glimpse of a spiritual connection to the natural world around me. I rediscovered my love for the outdoors and wildlife. I saw first-hand how beautiful Mother Nature and the world is. I started to care. It’s this personal exposure to the importance of environmental education and human-nature connection, which still motivates me at my core to dedicate myself to this field, to help others realise their connection to the environment.”
Why did you decide to focus on biodiversity?
“Yale-NUS was where I was first initiated into environmental work and advocacy. I learnt new perspectives of thinking through sustainability topics, implemented environmental education projects, tended to the school’s urban farm, and wrote environmental opinion pieces. I discovered community, self-identity and the meaning of dedicating myself to a cause larger-than-life in environmental work. However, that was focused more broadly on sustainability, rather than biodiversity. In fact I dabbled in every single project that the Yale-NUS Sustainability Movement had, except nature trails and guiding!
For biodiversity itself, I started out just wanting to explore green spaces beyond our famous nature reserves. I grew to love not just the space but also the wildlife inhabitants and the entire process of wildlife spotting. As dusk falls, time melts away. Any moment, a pattern or a movement could suggest an instinct within: an inkling that that is not a vine, not a blade of grass, not part of the asphalt road. That is a snake, an Asian palm civet, a brown hawk-owl, a lesser mouse deer. I was fascinated, speechless, awed, disgusted, and excited in turn by snakes and the prospects of finding snakes late into the night while the rest of the city slept. It was like… falling into a manhole I didn’t even know was there. The community calls this ‘herping’ — the act of going out into the field to sight some amphibians or reptiles, including frogs, toads, snakes, lizards. ‘Herpetology’ is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of these creatures. Its Greek root is herpet, meaning “creeping”, which is a fascinating word to describe how this activity creeped into my life.
This was a similar trajectory for me and marine ecosystems and intertidal explorations. When I was younger, I associated seas or coastlines in Singapore as lifeless places, where the waters were a dull brown or olive green (instead of turquoise, aquamarine, green and light blue), waves were lacklustre, and sand was coarse, brown or grey and large-grained. In fact, there is a lot of marine wildlife in Singapore if only we knew where to look! Life teems everywhere you look — seagrass, crabs, shrimp, clams, fish, stars, urchins. Slowly, curiosity overtook apathy. The more I learnt, the more I wanted to know.
Ultimately, these personal wildlife explorations and the walks I facilitate aim to raise awareness and appreciation for the lesser known, less charismatic but underrated biodiversity that thrives in Singapore’s forests and seas. I want to show how disturbed, human- modified places also remain worthy of our appreciation, admiration and protection. And also, how we can turn the tide, if we conserve and preserve these precious habitats.”
How would you describe your approach to environmental advocacy on social media?
“I enjoy new experiences as I become exceptionally reflective and receptive to learning. For instance while in Oahu, Hawaii) for my Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative experience, I consistently wrote IG stories and reflection pieces to capture, express and share my insights and lessons.
Running my environmental communications Instagram @eyes.uncloudedd, which is also where I log my experiences in and with nature and my socio-environmental impact work, has trained me to be adept in social media storytelling — a skill that’s adaptable across topics. I see social media advocacy as a worthy endeavour and challenge — to make meaningful content that can stand out from all the empty white noise and deliver a message.
Beyond educating about local biodiversity, I hope the account with my sharing and perspectives could benefit someone on their own personal journey towards conservation, climate action and connectedness with nature and the land.”
How do you envision a nature-inspired, 21st century kampung culture playing out in Singapore’s future?
“I think about GUI, a non-profit community located in a rustic open-air and very green space in the Khatib/Yishun area. We have a natural farm, an earth oven, a community-run tuckshop, a woodworking space, and a huge backyard hosting an ecosystem of educational partners whose work resonate with our mission.
Equally diverse are the people, coming from different backgrounds, socio-economic status, stages of life, and with different skill sets, knowledge and belief systems, yet who all come to embody the kampung spirit of generosity, teamwork, hands-on culture and environmental awareness. GUI’s mission is to foster deep and meaningful connections, to ourselves, to the earth, and to each other. As a space, it still feels drastically different from the rest of Singapore. It is a good platform for many people to reconnect with the land and to touch nature, like a kampung would!
In contrast to the stressed-out, disconnected, fast-paced life, we offer people in Singapore an alternative set of “5G” values to practise — green, giving, gracious, grounded, and grateful. It is by engaging/nudging people to work on the farm that we strengthen the community, and also people’s connection to and sense of stewardship of the local environment.”
What’s one message you have for everyone this Earth Day?
“Go out and be in nature — it’s good for you!”
This Gen Zer is one of the faces in the prominent youth-led movement SG Climate Rally, which has pushed for collective action for climate justice. The 23-year-old, who majors in Global Environment and Sustainable Development at the University of Auckland, may only be in her second year of college, but she’s got more than four years of advocacy under her belt and is currently working on a creative project that looks at the intersections between the environment and media.
When did your environmental advocacy journey start?
“My journey started when I discovered the existence of endangered species at seven. I was horrified and scared I would only see the beauty of nature on a screen. That fear turned to grief and anxiety as I grew up watching epic natural wonders fall apart, like the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef and ice glaciers melting, but the global Fridays for Future strikes inspired by Greta Thunberg was the galvanising moment that pushed me towards advocacy — that there was still hope for change.”
What made you join SG Climate Rally?
“While individual actions reduce our carbon footprint, it is the infrastructure we live in that makes it so destructive. I joined SG Climate Rally for their top-down approach to address the people that have the power to shape the unsustainable systems we rely on. SG Climate Rally also brings in the very human perspective of climate justice to the conversation, that it’s not just a feel-good tree hugger thing, but a movement that stands up for each and every one of us. After all, it is ultimately a crisis for people; where some of us have it worse than others but deserve to be fought for all the same.”
How would you describe your approach to environmental advocacy on social media?
“I aim to help people draw the connections of their everyday life and lives of the people we don’t normally think about to the climate crisis, identify the flaws in the current systems we live in so we don’t get paralysed from all the self-blame, and amplify avenues of change that anyone can be a part of. My platform is also a personal diary for me to reflect on the realities of living through a climate crisis. I want to show others that it is okay to be imperfect at caring for the world, to take time for yourself to find the joy in living. What matters is to keep trying.”
What keeps you going in the work that you do to raise awareness on climate change?
“Someone once told me environmentalism is not a race, it is a marathon; so it has to be sustainable for the people too. As social creatures, the key ingredient to self-care is community, so I surround myself with people who care as fiercely as I do and support one another to keep going. SG Climate Rally is one of them, but there are also so many groups and people at home and across the world who also stand in solidarity for the movement. I also make sure to celebrate climate wins big and small, because hope is a much more sustainable motivation than fear.”
What is your wish for the planet in the future?
“I wish for a planet that can and will be liveable for everyone. I hope our politics will recognise how interconnected we all are, that we work together towards communal care over the self-destructive game of so-called individual success. Ultimately, there are no winners or losers if we mess up the only home we have.”
The 32-year-old social media and audience development manager is no stranger to the FEMALE community and has long been using her social platform to advocate for mindful ways of living, as the foundation for leading a lifestyle that is environmentally conscious. She posts frequently on circular fashion, the importance of growing your own food, adopting zero-waste habits, and incorporating mindfulness practice. She even has hands-on guides to making your own compost and recipes for plant-based foods.
What was your environmental awakening?
“I’ve shared an extensive account on my Medium page, but in a nutshell, it stemmed from the realisation that my way of living no longer aligned with my core values and purpose. Deep down, I wanted to be a responsible caretaker of this planet, and knew I could no longer continue living in a way that went against that principle.
My growth came from my realisation of how damaging the fast fashion industry was to our planet and how it’s built on exploiting communities for profit. As an ex-fast fashion addict, that awareness drove me to reframe how I consumed fashion and pushed me to educate myself further on other aspects of environmentalism and eco-consciousness.”
How would you describe your approach to environmental advocacy on social media?
“I like to frame it in a way that’s accessible to everyone. A lot of the things I recommend are easily adaptable without requiring too much time or money. For example, I find that sustainable fashion can be out of reach for certain communities. As much as it’s birthed out of good intentions to change the way the industry operates, it isn’t very affordable to a vast majority. But that does not mean one cannot still participate in making responsible fashion the mainstream.
There are other ways to consume fashion in a mindful and fun way, and this is why I love recommending clothes swapping. It pushes you to reassess your wardrobe, bring in a few items of clothing you no longer wear as much as you used to, and swap them for ‘new’ clothes. It’s also a great way to encourage you to rethink your relationship with clothes. It’s certainly changed mine in the best way possible!”
What keeps you going in the work that you do for the environment?
“Community. Environmental advocacy is hard work and can be incredibly isolating at times, so I find that surrounding myself in communities that encourage critical thinking, offer support, and that provide a safe space to fully engage in conversations that matter, has been really helpful in keeping me going.
I find it’s also reassuring to follow platforms that amplify voices and news in the environmental space so you can use that as fuel to keep pushing on! Some of my favourites at the moment are the podcast For The Wild, and IG account Environment by Impact.”
What is your wish for the planet in the future?
“Our planet will always find ways of healing herself naturally, so I would redirect this wish for humanity instead! I truly hope that humanity will question the status quo and move towards a more soulful way of living, rejecting businesses that are extractive and supporting ones that are regenerative, and work towards rewilding nature. Eco, not ego!”
What’s one message you have for everyone this Earth Day?
“I’d like to challenge everyone to commit to just one activity that invests in our Earth’s healing! This could be volunteering at your nearest community garden or farm, participating in climate-forward events (like workshops or film screenings), or choosing a lifestyle change for one month that will positively impact the environment (like composting or going vegan).”
The Black Soldier Fly sounds like a pretty sweet name for a superhero, and in many ways, this insect is one. Chua Kai Ning, the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Insectta, Singapore’s first insect company, is one of the brains behind the technology to extract high-value chitosan and melanin from these tiny flies that are used in applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, organic electronics, and F&B industries.
What sparked your interest in contributing to the circular economy?
“I’ve always felt a sense of duty to protect the natural world – many of my childhood hobbies (now adult hobbies!) include fishing, looking for critters in the leaf litter, and growing plants and animals. Coupled with my passion for entrepreneurship and fascination with composting, I realised that by conforming to a linear economy (produce, use, throw), we were wasting some serious economic and environmental value. What if we could imagine waste as a resource? That’s the basis of how I got really motivated to do something that contributes to the circular economy.”
Why did you decide to focus on bugs in particular?
“The truth is, I never set out to pursue a career in sustainability with a specific focus on bugs. I’d learnt about the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) when they came and paid a visit to my home earthworm composting bin (yes, many people keep earthworms as pets). They chowed down on the food waste meant for my earthworms incredibly quickly – much faster than my worms could. You could say from then on, my earthworms were out of a job. The BSFs are used around the world to do this job of food waste valorisation, and to tap on their potential just seemed like an amazing opportunity.”
What keeps you going in the work that you do with Insectta?
“My motivation comes from many places. I’ve seen Insectta make so much progress in the five short years we’ve been around. We’ve progressed from the first insect farm in Singapore to the first company in the world able to extract chitosan and melanin from these insects. I’ve also seen schools including insects and black soldier flies as part of their mainstream curriculum, all thanks to our outreach efforts. Knowing Insectta has played a role in mainstreaming the insect industry for the world is an incredible feeling. Lastly, I’m motivated by the love from my family, in particular my mom, who has brought me and my sister up to pursue creativity, explore our passions, and embody resilience.”
How close do you think we’ll get to achieving a circular economy in the foreseeable future?
“There are no exact answers for this, but we’re definitely seeing increased emphasis on the need for and benefits of a circular economy. It’s an unreachable goal in a sense, because it’s hard to define a completely circular economy, but what we can measure are the start-ups, initiatives, and legislations dedicated to increasing circularity. If data shows anything, that’s on the rise.”
What’s one message you’d like to spread this Earth Day?
“No effort is too small when it comes to inspiring people to care for the environment – however for tangible change to happen, we need the efforts of large businesses, governments, and communities to come together. With talks of greenwashing going around, let’s keep that in mind during Earth Day this year, and ensure our efforts for the environment are directed to make a lasting impact.”
Realtor-slash-social enterprise founder Melissa Lam got started on her passion project by getting people to open up to bigger conversations on the environment, through the un-intimidating bamboo straw. Since then the 31-year-old has ran talks and workshops, collaborating with cool folks from Bombay Sapphire, The Body Shop and Kiehl’s to spread awareness on sustainability-related issues.
What was your climate change awakening moment?
“I had a campfire with friends many years ago and one of us took a photo that was so beautiful at first glance, but revealed lots of plastic bags with packaged snacks. It was then that I realised the scale of our reliance on disposable convenience. In recent years, the weather in Singapore has become more and more unpredictable and temperatures have been hitting new highs. The nights aren’t as chilly as I recall them to be when I was small. If we take a step back, we are living in our climate change awakening moments.”
What made you focus on a zero-waste lifestyle in your advocacy?
“I’m not hyper-focussed on zero-waste, as there will never be a ‘zero’. It is more of a mindset of not creating unnecessary waste and being mindful in consumption. I think the core of ‘zero-waste’ is ‘Make do, do without, use it up, wear it out’ and sometimes that isn’t as pretty as mason jars and bulk food pantries.
Through ‘zero-waste’ actions, I try my best to start conversations about larger sustainability topics – for example, when people see a bamboo straw, they will think about so much more than just a straw – they’ll start asking. ‘Who made this?’ (fair trade), ‘Why bamboo’ (responsible consumption and production)… You get the picture!”
How would you describe your approach to environmental advocacy on social media?
“I’m not someone who shoves their thoughts down others’ throats. I really prefer a softer approach and leading by example. I tend to share my day to day actions in candid snippets and nothing on my feed is particularly polished-looking. ‘Zero-waste’, like real life, isn’t manicured.”
What keeps you motivated in working on your social enterprise?
“The lasting friendships with the makers who create our products by hand, the meaningful connections with our customers and corporate clients, and the messages that I get from customers saying that our work has impacted their life.”
What’s your green vision for the future?
“A more empathetic society that leaves no one behind, because there is more to sustainability than plastic waste and there is a lot of inequality in our world. Incidentally, the message of ‘Leave no one behind’ is the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Tammy Gan,25, is the head of content and storytelling at Advaya, a transformative learning platform that explores the intersections of ecology, wellbeing and spirituality – undoubtedly an alternative and more radical approach to climate change than most of us might be used to seeing in Singapore. While she doesn’t consider herself an environmental advocate per se, much of Gan’s work does revolve around advocacy. She credits her radical streak to reading Environmental Studies at Yale-NUS College and watching The True Cost, a fashion documentary that sheds light on the ethical impacts of the industry.
What led you to focus on exploring the intersections of ecology and spirituality?
“Studying environmental humanities in college gave me a different perspective on the environment. It felt like the way it’s approached in Singapore lacks a recognition that environmental and ecological work of any kind can’t be disconnected from spirituality. This isn’t necessarily religious or New Age, but a broad sense of feeling something stir within you.
Environmental work here feels empty, productive and action-oriented – not to say that actions aren’t important, they are important especially for corporations and high net worth individuals. For the rest of us, I think we can’t save the Earth without realising that it doesn’t necessarily need saving. From a biological and ecological perspective, humans are one species in a continuum, embedded in greater ecosystems and part of a bigger story. The systems and structures humans have put in place have shifted things out of balance, and we need to restore it.
I find that a lot of environmental work here isn’t fuelled by a sense of love, but anger and fear. While these emotions are important and very valid motivations, a radical sense of love with empathy and compassion is what will really drive you and take you to the end of the road. What drew me to the intersections of ecology and spirituality is because there’s a lot of burnout in the environmental space. People aren’t really in touch with their emotions, nor the question: why am I doing this?”
How does this translate into actions we need to take to mitigate the effects of climate change?
“We need governments and corporations to cooperate and to radically change the way things are being done. Money needs to move, people in power need to distribute it and people with privilege need to recognise that the systems benefit them, and then go back to the drawing board to find ways to instill a sense of commons with a greater focus on localisation.
As far as ecology and spirituality are concerned, the actions we need to mitigate climate change is really to instill a sense of embeddedness. I come to this word quite intentionally, as that mindset shift is what will drive bigger and more meaningful actions. Everyone, regardless of where you are, needs to be connected to the earth. Modern urbanised living has led to a disconnect between people and the earth. I do think that a lot of things would shift if we reoriented ourselves towards realising that we’re one part of a bigger system. To have humility, discipline and a recognition of who and where we are – it’s kind of existential. At the heart of it, it’s putting your heart in the work that you do, and being empathetic and awake to the political, ecological, and social realities we’re living in.”
What keeps you going in the work that you do to raise awareness for ecological issues?
“What keeps me going is a sense of solidarity with those who feel the same way, a recognition that this is the long game I’m playing and that it’s my life’s purpose. Once you open your eyes to our environmental realities, there’s no closing your eyes and turning away – you can diminish it or be demotivated, but there’s no going back.
I also feel a sense of duty, but what really keeps me going is conversations with other like-minded people, and my desire to be a participant in this larger story that’s unfolding, to find out what my place in the world is. I have a lot more to learn, practically speaking, from the earth. I learn this from educators, writers, storytellers and the human world, there’s a lot of things I haven’t delved into there. It’s definitely a sense that there’s an ongoing unfolding and I’m a mere part of it.”
What is your idea of a ‘green future for all’?
“A green future for all is kind of a strange slogan to me, but in my view it’ll be a future where biodiversity is flourishing, where people are no longer exploited and isolated, but are in thriving communities and leading meaningful, grateful and fulfilled lives. I think that’s possible! To me it’s not just about greening things, but bringing into being a better world for all kin, people, and persons on this planet.”
What’s one message you have for our readers this Earth Day?
“Figure out what kind of participant you want to be in this story that’s unfolding and do whatever it takes to be that participant, in whatever capacity you can. Be engaged in whichever way you feel called to be engaged.”