What Kind Of Global Citizen Are You? - The Environmental Enthusiast

Load up the greens in your Buddha bowl and sit down for a moment. Let’s talk about home. And by home, we mean the home planet. Most of us are facepalming our way through the hapless climate deals that are signed and reversed at the drop of a hat - or should I say, drop of an iceberg? It’s time to activate our inner global citizens and bring them into forests, food banks and see what we can do to keep the environment intact!

When we think of shaping the future of our cities, it is impossible to picture a destination anywhere in the world that isn’t affected by the climate crisis. What are we without the trees and bees and flowers that surround us? At a core level, it is a disconnect from nature that makes us see ourselves as separate to it. We believe that it's time to reconcile the idea of humankind as a part of nature and fully appreciate how tethered our own existence is to that of the others in the ecosystem. Being at the top of the food chain only means that we have the most responsibility in ensuring that we carry our fellow species into the future with us!

As a global citizen, there are many ways in which you can contribute to the preservation of ecology and environment. If protecting all life forms is a cause you feel strongly about, then here are some ways in which you can contribute at the local, national and global level.

Local

In your own city, there are bound to be several organisations working to preserve nature, regreen spaces, bring more greenery into the urban sphere and so on. Research these options in your home, see if there are community gardens you can be a part of, reforestation projects you can support, permaculture gardens you can visit and learn from. There are projects involving pollinators, local produce, offsetting carbon footprints via reforestation and so on that will welcome you right in!

National

It is very important to ensure that the national government is held accountable to global agreements on climate change. Citizens can put pressure on their MPs and join protests against harmful practices like the use of fossil fuels, illegal waste dumping in nature, the reduction of nature reserves and so on. You can sign petitions, spread awareness or volunteer your time and skills to this cause. Voting and encouraging others to vote goes a long way, a lot longer than is visible to the naked eye!

Global

All over the world, climate is in decline and various projects need help to sustain their conservation efforts. You can become a monthly donor to such projects, spend time overseas volunteering in reforestation projects, work with organisations that restore coral reefs and so on. You can also make a habit of giving your loved ones unique gifts such as sponsoring trees in their name in countries where deforestation is replete! Depending on your skills and interests, you could even direct your education and career towards environmental conservation.

No matter what you decide to do, remember that no contribution is too small when it comes to preserving our planet so that there will never come a generation that has not looked begrudgingly at a stalk of celery and thought, ‘what the hell!’

Read more articles