I decided to sit down with (or, rather, phone) the individual members to get an insight into their thinking, their visions, and their expectations of the year ahead. It was a truly eye-opening experience, and I’m thrilled to present the outcomes of the discussion with Maddie, the Community & Sustainability Rep.
Do you think that social and environmental sustainability is linked? If so, how?
-Definitely. I think that you can’t achieve one without the other; they come hand in hand. Social sustainability is, obviously, a must – I think at its heart it’s about equality and ensuring everyone has equal opportunities. But then again, there’s no future without environmental sustainability. I feel like, also, environmental activism has this stigma around it that it’s expensive, and that maybe it appeals to a certain type of person who has the ability make those choices – and that should be changed, because I think it should be a default, rather than an option for people, whatever it means to the individual. But all this won’t happen without social sustainability, for sure.
See, this is why I’ve loved doing this interview – you get to just have a conversation with people about slightly random topics that all of us are passionate about to an extent. With you, you weren’t even necessarily going for sustainability rep, right?
-Well, that’s the thing – they’ve changed the role slightly this year. But you’re right – sustainability wasn’t something I considered as a role, yet I find that the addition of the social element makes it so interesting to me. It’s so much more now about the school community, and wider, too. It’s made me realise just how well they work together, so I think that having me come at it from that new angle will be beneficial.
What kind of plans, ideas, visions do you have for the year ahead?
-Something that I think is important is this idea that I call ‘breaking the bubble’ – a bubble that we exist in through no fault of our own. Especially after Covid, I think we should engage more with communities outside of ours. How we do that – I’m not sure yet, but through sustainability projects, and acknowledging our privilege – like the Partnerships program. That’s something I want to work hard on.
What do you think will be the hardest about advocating sustainability to a large organisation, like our school?
-I think what previous reps have found, is that it’s hard to push your passion onto others. Also, the position that we still play as children, in that a lot of home decisions don’t come from us. But I think it should be a change in mindset, rather than a change in decision-making, because what’s important is that it’s not just a rule that you follow at school, and only while you’re here. It needs to be a change in mindset, and a change in attitude, so that you start making conscious decisions – and, like I said earlier, it becomes a default. It has to be individual, as well as organisational. I think that’s where I can help, because I also have to make those lifestyle and attitude changes as much as everyone else.
