Together
Environmental goals in everyday life
By Ilaria Congia and Martina Erba.
Sustainable lifestyle is becoming a hot discussion topic everywhere, yet even numerous scientific studies can’t tell us exactly what a perfect sustainable lifestyle is. We need to be sensitive in order to bring about change, and sensitivity can be taught and passed on.
Children who are raised to care about the environment from the time they‘re small slowly become mature adults who are aware of how their actions impact the environment. Living and working sustainably means just that: becoming aware of the problems we face, thinking about our actions, shifting our perspectives and viewpoints, and reducing waste and excess.
The Young Environmentalist
Name: Giacomo
Age: 10 years old
Particular qualities: imaginative, smiles often, feels comfortable with Nature, is growing up with respect for the environment
City: Cagliari
Season: Summer
1. The walk
Every morning Giacomo takes a walk. Holding his mother Giovanna by the hand, they walk along the sea towards summer camp. Observant little Giacomo always makes new discoveries as he keeps a lookout for ducks, flamingos, shells and driftwood. He loves all the surprises Nature offers him day after day.
2. The green cafeteria
Sitting in the cafeteria together with other children, a little environmentalist like Giacomo gets a great opportunity to explore communal life and receive environmentally sound education and nutrition. Helped by his teacher, Giacomo pours himself water from a glass carafe, being careful not to damage or break the plates or reusable ceramic tableware. Fruits, vegetables, and limited amounts of fish and meat are delivered to the summer camp from within a 300 km radius of Cagliari, to reduce the environmental impact of transport.
3. Toy sharing
Back from summer camp, Giacomo enjoys afternoons at home with his Montessori toys and his older sister Alice’s Waldorf dolls, which stimulate his imagination, creativity and emotional intelligence. Unlike many of his peers, Giacomo’s room contains few toys, because his mother Giovanna raised him from an early age to value the importance of sharing, exchanging, and treating objects with care. So Giacomo returns a toy, still in good condition, that he got through the toy exchange service and doesn’t use anymore, so other children his age can play with it.
4. Green journal
Before Giacomo goes to bed at night, he writes a few lines in his green journal, which he carefully keeps in his room next to his beloved teddy bear Balù. Giacomo writes about the little things he does every day to protect the environment, taking to heart what his mother has taught him: Nature gives us such indescribable beauty, and all she wants in return is care and respect.
The Manager Father
Name: Luca
Age: 50 years old
Particular qualities: married, father of two very active children, loves to be outdoors, especially with the family
City: Rome
Season: Spring
1. A good breakfast to start the day
Luca, who’s a manager for a multinational company responsible for consulting and strategic business management, is always rushed in the morning. But he and his family never forego a glass of milk and a slice of bread with blueberry jam from the farm outside Rome, where the family likes to stock up on local products every Saturday morning.
2. Sustainable mobility for everyone
After breakfast, he and the children walk to the walking bus stop. Luca accompanies the children to school as a volunteer helper – a good oppor- tunity to get some exercise and teach the children about the importance of sustainable mobility. Once he gets to the children’s school, he takes a rental bike and rides to his workplace.
3. Smart working and biophilic design
The pandemic significantly changed office organization. The company encourages smart working, so employees can go to the office and reserve a workplace through an app in order to have conferences with the team and meetings with clients. Luca is planning a brainstorming session with the team and discussions with clients, so he reserves an open-air meeting area on the company terrace for the whole day, to take advantage of the good mood and better productivity that a beautiful sunny spring day can offer. Luca enjoys working on the company terrace, which features a green wall and lush flower boxes to promote well-being and creativity.
4. Ecological and economic sustainability in the family
At the end of the workday, Luca rushes home because he has an appointment with a repairman to install a water purifier. This decision should improve the household’s environmental and economic sustainability. To end the day, Luca’s son decides to make a dinner reservation at a nearby restaurant that’s participating in an initiative to reduce food waste: surplus products are not thrown away, but can be ordered at a discount through an app.
The Active Grandma
Name: Rita
Age: 75 years old
Particular qualities: grandmother to four grandchildren, always active and a great cook
City: Bolzano
Season: Autumn
1. The alarm clock
Rita’s alarm clock goes off early in the morning. For 50 years now, every morning Rita has prepared breakfast for herself and her husband Elia: yogurt from the family’s own mountain pasture and fresh strawberries. In the mornings, Elia often rides his bike to the community gardens that the municipality provides for retirees. Elia likes to spend the morning in the vegetable garden to enjoy the fresh air, chat with neighbors and get some exercise. Rita takes this opportunity to do the housework. Today she‘s cleaning the floors using natural, home-made products. It not only saves a lot of money and keeps things clean, but it also protects the environment and people’s health.
2. At the market
After finishing her housework, Rita goes to the local farmer’s market, because she wants to choose the most sustainable food possible and serve quality products. By now it’s lunchtime and Rita heads home with her shopping cart full of tasty food. After a while, Elia also comes home with some extra juicy tomatoes and a nice head of lettuce from the garden…lunch is served!
3. Good green influences
In the afternoon, Rita likes to take a walk with her neighbor and long-time friend Adele. Rita is slowly convincing Adele to make sustainable choices. For example, today she’s accompanying her to a nearby supermarket where shoppers can fill up their own detergent and soap bottles. The supermarket has also set out a shopping cart where people can leave donations of products for needy families. It’s a small gesture that Rita is happy to make to raise awareness regarding equal rights to basic economic resources.
4. Dinner’s served!
Rita gets ready for her grandchildren, who are coming over for dinner. She wants to make her famous strudel, a real delicacy made from products she bought at the market that morning. Almost nothing of Rita’s food is left over, but nothing is wasted either, because Elia has set up a compost corner in their home garden, which reduces kitchen waste and provides excellent fertilizer for the vegetable garden.
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