Hello everyone. My name is Maria Angela and I live in Nairobi, Kenya.
Thank you to the Thinking Watermill Society for this great opportunity to share my thoughts. Today, I will speak on the importance of educating the youth on environmental conservation.

A few days ago I decided to take a walk in Karura Forest conservancy. While I was there, I saw a mother teaching her child on the importance of flowers and trees to our environment.

This short encounter had me thinking that I only learnt the importance of environmental conservation as an adult. It has been a really difficult journey. I had to change my mindset in order to change my way of living and save our environment in any small way. On the other hand, it is not too late to instill this knowledge in our youth alongside their formal school education.

It’s time we teach the youth the importance of conserving electricity, choosing cleaner commute alternatives and avoiding use of plastics. In addition to this, we should encourage them to mesh their passions with the aim to make the world a better place. When I say this, I’m talking about “green jobs” such as agricultural science, farming, sustainable and ethical fashion and also urban planning and architecture just to name a few.

When we focus on instilling a green mindset in the youth, it triggers their curiosity and forms a foundation for their future and the future of our environment.

With that, I leave you with a quote by Richard Louv, an American author, who once said, “The children and nature movement is fueled by this fundamental idea that the child in nature is an endangered species, and the health of the child and the health of the Earth are inseparable.”

And for you, dear listeners, it is never too late to make a change. One small act a day cultivates a habit of green living. I will share with you some of the steps that I take towards green living today. First, I drink water from a reusable bottle rather than from plastic bottles. This action replaces all the plastics that I would have used and thereby reducing both my carbon footprint and the plastic burden on landfills, and water sources in Kenya. I have also reduced the amount of red meat consumption which helps to positively impact the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Lastly, I make sure to donate my old clothing to charity every year which decreases the pollution in our landfills. In the future, I hope to grow my own garden flowers and vegetables to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals polluting our waterways.

It’s time to take a step back, educate the youth and make a change to your lifestyle while you’re at it.

Thank you for listening and have a great day.