My favorite animals are spiders! I know they give lots of people the heebie jeebies, but for an animal so small, they are such important parts of our ecosystems. And just like the mighty mini spiders, all the mini steps towards the environment you take in your life add up to make a big difference!
My name is Meena Srinivasan, and I started my initiative “mini steps” two years ago, with the hopes to inspire people to make small, positive changes in their lives to reduce their carbon footprints.
I started this journey at farmers markets, promoting local products like monofloral honey and curry pastes, jams and chutneys. Through this experience I talked to so many people about their sustainability journeys and what their challenges in this space were. There are many barriers preventing people (including myself) from making sustainable changes in our lives. These barriers included lack of time, lack of resources, not having the funds, and also just feeling completely helpless about the increasingly alarming environmental issues. This is known as eco-anxiety.
I decided to focus on these barriers and what I could do to help alleviate them for some people. This is the basis I developed my project on, which includes a social media platform on instagram where I have posted about the markets I was at, my upcoming projects that I am working on like my blog or podcast and informational posts about conservation and sustainability. In my podcast I have been interviewing local sustainability heroes and the actions they take in their lives to help conserve the environment. So far I have recorded and released an episode with my incredibly passionate primary school teacher who helped kickstart my sustainability journey back when I was in year 5! I have also recorded an episode with Graham Wiles, the pioneer of the concept of a circular economy. Through these interviews I am hoping to share the ways many different people incorporate a sustainable approach towards their lives no matter what profession or field they work in.
All of this comes together to help people realise that there are many small things we can all do in our lives towards a sustainable future. And a massive part of this is continuing to reach people in our community and raising awareness through many different avenues. I represented youth on a panel at a UN Food Security conference where I spoke with scientists, Indigenous small business owners and people in the agricultural sector about impacts on the environment from agriculture and food security in rural areas. I have also participated in the UN Youth Voice competition for 3 years and represented the state, voicing my ideas about various different topics regarding sustainability. I also won WA Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the BOP showcase last year. Using my voice as a representative of young people in my community, I hope to keep raising awareness and empower every individual to take mini steps.
To create a direct platform for people to start taking little steps to reduce their carbon footprint. I am working on developing a platform that connects local producers to local consumers so local shopping at small businesses can be made easy online. As a customer checks out, the carbon footprint they have saved by buying that product locally is displayed. The concept of a carbon footprint calculator already exists and there are methods to offset carbon already but by integrating this into an online shopping platform the information is readily available and people can see how much their mini step has actually contributed.
The aim of all of these ideas is to empower every individual who feels overwhelmed or has no idea what they can do to make change. In particular I hope to empower young people, who are the next generation of changemakers in our society. Our generation is more aware and passionate about topics surrounding sustainability and many other social issues as evident from this showcase today. By using my leadership skills and voice, I hope to inspire many young people in our community to continue to create change in any way, big or small.
Comments