July 4, 2020“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” once said Nelson
Mandela, and I would add education to environment is the most powerful weapon which you can use
to address climate change.
My name is Irène and I’m 19 years old. I am currently studying human and social sciences in a French
university and I had the great chance to meet Green Teen Team two years ago.
I was still in high school then and with a few motivated friends and teachers we wanted to make our
school greener. We believed small projects can address larger issues. One has to start somewhere,
and education is key as youngsters are the future ! We were lucky to find on our way Green Teen
Team that believed so. That’s how the project « Butterfly, Better Fly Around Our Tiny Gardens »
came up. Making our school a better place for pollinators, flora and every living things make it better
for students, too!
Here in France and all over the planet, so much can be done to raise awareness on the role of
biodiversity. I’m trying to do so by helping in a sustainable café in my university and taking part to
activities with refugees on ecology. When I hike in the Pyrénées, mountains in the South of France
where I come from, I always look around and think about how resourceful, but also fragile, Nature is.
It also made me realized that we are all part of the same ecosystem : we depend on it, and what we
take from it we should try to give it back.
I have prepared some activities for schools and GTT’s summer camps. LandArt, theater, learning
about birds, trees or stars is a great way to connect people to nature and kick preserving
biodiversity ! Playing, debating, singing, drawing and brainstorming on this topic allows us to share
our views and what we know about it. The aim is to explore the challenges brought by climate
change beyond the surface and to acquire new lenses to face them.
“Change the Politics not the Climate” have we sung during the Climate Movement. I believe sharing
the value of Nature with future responsible citizens is a great way to invent tomorrow. Come
together and get engaged!
