Every Tuesday, I get asked the same question repeatedly:
“Why?”.
“Why do I have to pick my wrapper up?”
“Why do we have to use the recycling bin?”
“Why should I care about sustainability?”
These are merely some of the many burning questions that the toddlers i nanny ask me. In all honesty, sometimes it feels like 90 per cent of my days nannying are spent answering the questions that their little minds come up with. Although this has never bothered me. I know that when answering their questions, my responses can shape their perception of sustainability. Their perception shapes the person they become and the values they carry.
As I embark on my study abroad trip some things are uncontrollable; The emotions saying goodbye to my family at the boarding gate, the life-changing experience and simultaneous homesickness. Yet, I can control the footprint I leave behind in the United Kingdom and my footprint will be memories from my trip of a lifetime, not pollution left by a careless traveller. As I explore I want to give back to the place which I know will serve me greatly. Simple substitutions such as;
-Booking a train on the National Rail journey planner (https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/journey-planner/) instead of a plane on Wizz Air
-Scouring through the Oxfam website (https://www.oxfam.org.uk/) instead of browsing the racks of M & S
– Grabbing a Too good to go bag (https://www.toogoodtogo.com/en-gb) for tea instead of a Tesco meal deal
In making these conscious choices, I can contribute toward making sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and ensure responsible consumption and production of materials (SDG 12).
It would be ignorant not to acknowledge that, by taking the 15,000km journey to the UK, I am causing at least 1.5 metric tons of CO2 to be emitted. While the flight is unavoidable, I don’t believe sustainability is determined by a singular unavoidable decision but by the hundreds of intentional choices that follow.
My “why” has never simply been about reducing my own environmental footprint. It’s about helping ensure that the children I care for inherit a world where they too can hike mountains, swim in rivers, and one day study on the other side of the world. If I can teach them that every small choice matters, then I should hold myself to that same standard wherever I go.
So in answering “why do I need to pick up my wrapper, use the recycling or care about sustainability” my answer is pretty simple.
Because.
Because every choice matters.
Because every place we visit deserves our respect.
Because one day, this world won’t be ours to care for anymore.
It will be theirs.
