Compassionate Stewards of the EARTH
In celebration of Earth Day, Chloe Brown gave an interview with DREAM Communications on what Earth Day means to her and how we can be better environmental guardians. Chloe is a Program Coordinator up at Camp DREAM, where she experiences the beauty of the northern Vermont wilderness everyday. She has made a point to push for Earth day awareness and programming at DREAM and beyond.
What does it mean / look like to be a compassionate steward of the Earth?
“It varies for each person. For me personally, it means educating myself about the area around me, or since I live in a city right now it means learning to maintain my recycling and make sure it gets to a designated place to actually be recycled. Or you know, composting, things that might take a little extra effort to do but in return take care of the earth in a more sustainable way. When I was growing up, we would be like ‘okay, this is an apple core, you can just toss it out the window when you're done because it's organic and will break down,’ but I think now I’ve added an intensional aspect. So now I think I shouldn’t throw this apple down because it's not native to this environment. That's why I like composting because it's centered and an intentional spot to make something out of it. You should realize too that everyone is on their own different path into learning about sustainability and how you can begin to take care of the earth and there are different paths you can take. Just as long as you lead with compassion in educating yourself or others around you, doing day to day actions that better our environment, that’s mostly how I think being a compassionate steward would look like.
Are there any resources you have used to educate yourself on proper ways to be a compassionate steward?
I research a lot online. People on Youtube who have environmental degrees, or articles or documentaries. I definitely like to advocate against brainwashing, that’s a big thing for me. I'm an avid believer in getting rid of some labels that companies use, like “bio-degradable” or using the color green to make things seem clean and fresh, those aren’t regulated. Those are crazy marketing schemes. The internet is a beautiful place, there are pros and cons to that. As far as local places, I know Vemont has a lot of cool programs like Keep Vermont Cool and there is CCL. You know, there are programs like that that are incorporated in states.
When did you begin to be more consciously earth friendly?