Dear Mother Earth,
It’s been a while since we last chatted, I’m sorry to hear you are not feeling well. I couldn’t imagine what it’s like to be you, constantly ending up sick because of our actions or rather lack of…
As you know I will be going on an exchange to England in the fall and while I am super excited for this opportunity I am worried it might make you sicker. To overcome my fear I started to do some research on how I can be a responsible traveller and reduce my impacts on you and good news, there are so many ways I could help you out! But if I am being honest it felt very overwhelming and impossible to achieve them all during my exchange. So, I decided to be more realistic and focus on two specific goals to work on while I’m in England. That said you should definitely check out all they want to do using this website: https://sdgs.un.org/goals.
Focus One: UN Goal 11
Sustainable transport is one of the first actions I want to support during my exchange. You may recall one of my work placements where I was working for the Canadian distributor for the first ever type certified electric plane (https://www.pipistrel-aircraft.com/). Working this job made me rethink the way I travel. Since there are no electric commercial flights at the moment I will have to fly in a carbon emitting plane. But, once I land I hope to make up for those emissions by choosing low emission options such as taking the bus, train, or walking. (https://sdgs.un.org/topics/sustainable-transport). I know that the aviation industry has caused you a great deal of pain, but I hope these other sustainable transportation options can help heal some of those wounds.
Focus Two: UN Goal 2
The second goal I want to focus on is through supporting local farmers and foods. You may not know this but I have been a part of an Agricultural Society for quite some time and from that I have learned the importance of the industry. Growing up in a smaller town surrounded by farmers fields made me more appreciative of the agriculture industry, but as I venture into a bigger city I worry I will feel disconnected from it. So, while on exchange I want to try and buy from local farmers when possible and if not, buy produce that is growing in season in the grocery stores (https://globalgoals.org/goals/2-zero-hunger/). I think it will be interesting to see how the in season foods differ from my home.
So Mother Earth, those are my goals, let me know what you think. I know it may not seem like much but I figured every little action can help you in your recovery. I’ll keep you updated throughout my exchange to hold myself accountable to these goals and check in on you.
All the best,
Rachel
