Lately, I’ve been reflecting on my journey as a faith-based Environmentalist: what sparked this journey, connecting all the dots to where I am currently – well, some experiences are worthy sharing, I will be sharing my Environmentalism life map 1/3 stages at a time. I hope to hear from you too, we can both learn from each other and maybe inspire someone out there.
A LITTLE SPARK WITHIN CLASSROOM WALLS
It all begun in a High School Science (Biology) Class; typically on ‘Transportation in Plants’ and how it is key to growth and development, photosynthesis and survival. I understood very well – how plants absorb water and nutrients to sustain life. Just like humans, plants too need water, nutrients and care; this day I realised that plants are not just passive organisms but the foundation of life on Earth, the source of food, oxygen, natural beauty including many roles they play. This is the day I fall for fauna; with related subjects like Geography, Agriculture and Chemistry – it all sparked a deep curiosity within me and I have no doubt that it shaped my entire journey unto nature conservation. The more I learned about plants, ecosystems and related systems and processes that connect biodiversity, the more I became fascinated by their delicate web. Either at school, home or anywhere, I found myself looking at the various tree and/ plant species with newfound appreciation, that they are more than just shade providers but life-givers. I remember when I returned back in the village during school action, seeing people cutting down trees was a major loss to me. I remember at one point I quarrelled with my mother about cutting down green trees for firewood, even to this day. Truth said, we cannot do without fauna and from this point I decided to take a role in protecting it.
EXPLORING AND NURTURING THE PASSION: UNIVERSITY DAYS
After Secondary Education, during our days – for many high school leavers like me, the next academic level was college/ university. “So, what do you want to do where?” Well, this was very easy for someone who already had an early passion, though I had a dilemma, Agriculture or just ‘Trees’. Finally I dropped Agriculture because it was something I’ve been doing in the village. All I wanted was to explore my passion further, I remember telling my parents that I wanted to do something related to trees. Well, this was just a response of a village girl without any prior Career Guidance, any means and tools to neither research nor a close role model to seek guidance. It was just about trees….How I got to choose NUST, is a topic for another day; I just remember my poor-self choosing BSc (Hons) in Forestry Resource and Wildlife Management as my first option, followed by Environmental Science and Health. Forestry because the first word that would ring was trees, and none much I knew by then. I don’t know how to call my application feedback, instead NUST under the Applied Science Department by then, decided to enrol me, but I was offered the my second option – what a heartbreak, to a village girl who didn’t know much about all the options besides the tree element in forestry, shame.
I remember how mad I was, how could they do this to me? Surely God’s plans and thoughts are greater than ours. Few slides down the lane, I realised my second option was my first and the best programme for me, omg I just don’t how best to explain this. I will mention some of the most interesting modules that deepened and strengthened my passion. I was particularly drawn to the fact that both human and planet well-being are connected and very crucial. With all the lab work and field trips to various locations of significant importance, I realised how protecting the environment goes beyond just trees or fauna, but more about safeguarding human health, livelihoods and the planet as a whole.
‘Conservation is not just a theoretical concept, but a daily lifestyle commitment for you and me’, this conviction still lingers to this day, and it’s this belief that continues to fuel my passion unto action. Beyond academics, I immersed myself in environmental action, through joining school clubs like Red Cross, Good Deeds Network. I remember some colleagues Witness, Gabaza at RedCross and it’s good to see them in action to this day (keep it up team). I actively participated in various activities like tree-planting, clean ups and all these provided a sense of purpose.
Every action we took was a step towards a healthier community and a greener planet for all. “So nature does indeed need protection from man; but man, too, needs protection from his own acts, for he is part of the living world. His war against nature is inevitably a war against himself. His heedless and destructive acts enter into the vast cycles of the earth, and in time return to him” – this was one of the best quotes from Rachel Carson, after a case study we did, drawn from her famous book ‘The Silent Spring’