I have been lucky enough in my life to visit the Grand Canyon, the beautiful mountains near my university in California, and the beach in my home town of Brighton, England - but my favourite interactions with the natural world are the ones I have every day. Seeing the sun set from my bedroom window, going to my family allotment with my parents, taking a walk on the beach. I’m scared to lose all these things, especially the soil that we are so dependent on for everything. Recently I watched ‘The Need to Grow’ a documentary on the earth, and how quickly we are destroying it. This to me is the scariest thing, because it isn’t as scary as an extreme weather event like Texas freezing over, or a drought somewhere it shouldn’t be, but it’s constant attrition of the earth. I love animals too - my family have always joked about my obsession with bees, whenever I see a dead bee I have to bury it - but the destruction of the soil is so detrimental to the bees, the slow worms, dormice and of the other animals we overlook every day. I think these small interactions with nature have shaped my view, and my pledges to the world. Whether it be growing my own food, walking everywhere I can, the clothes my sister and I make, instead of participating in fast fashion, I’d like to think that I act sustainably where possible. I make those pledges even though I know that my actions alone can’t solve anything, but I do them in the hope that others will too.
As I’m still in university, most of my learning and work has come from the classes I’ve taken and the professors I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with. However two summers ago, I spent time backpacking through Spain, working on farms and sleeping in straw-bale houses, building, cultivating, growing and learning. While this wasn’t a project, it was an experience that made me so grateful. I have so many plans for the future - I want to travel more, and use these experiences to shape my work. In the future, I know I want to help people. Whether that be working in environmental justice, women’s rights, I know I’ll find something where I feel purposeful.
When I was little, I went to Waldorf Steiner school. We spent most of the day painting, drawing, baking, singing and telling stories. I had the most wonderful teacher called Carrie - when we asked Carrie how old she was, she used to say ‘I’m as old as the hills but not as old as the mountains’ and she used to tell us a story every day. I’d get home from school and instantly recount the whole thing to my mother, for an hour and a half, every day after school. These early experiences being creative make me feel so lucky, and I truly cherish them. Working with The Creative Process helps me nurture the creative side of me that has been somewhat neglected while working towards an academic degree.