What exactly is sustainable living? And what can we do to act accordingly?
There are several definitions for the term "sustainability" on the internet stating that generally-speaking, sustainability is all about an appropriate dealing with resources within a system. This might be true, however we wanted to think of our own definition for sustainability and re-acknowledge its importance for us connected to our work as AgemO e.V.
When we have a look at naturally occuring systems, two major factors are crucial for sustainability to work effortlessly: energy and a possibility to regenerate delivered by a resource.
Let’s think of an example: A dead bird in the forest is digested by insects, worms and bacteria over the course of time. Nature thereby transfers "lost" energy into useful energy for the entire system. Even trees can benefit from the nutrients which enter the soil through the decaying body of the bird. This process basically represents sustainability and therefore the opportunity for a system to regenerate from the losses it had, building new resources from those.
With this background knowledge, we wanted to embrace the opportunity to get into some sustainable acting as well. Thats why our participation in the World Clean Up Day on 19th of September 2020 was a litter clean-up action on the grounds of the Luisen Gymnasium school in Hamburg Bergedorf including parts of the local forest. In corporation with some local companies, we not only wanted to raise money to support our partner schools in Malawi, but also to do some environmental protection. If you want to know more about this project you can find photos and soon a short report as well on our website.
Through this action, we also want to show that even small steps can have an impact and starting small is better than doing nothing at all. Thats why we try everyday to stay true to our values and the goals we have set for ourselves as an organisation and as individuals. Acting sustainable and in favor of our environment shows also overall consciousness of our actions. If everybody does something small everyday, the impact will be enormous in the long term! This could be reducing your everyday use of plastic, throwing your trash into the bin rather than polluting the environment with it, be conscious about the food you eat and not buying the cheapest meat you can find. We`re all inhabitants of this planet. This concerns every single one of us! You wouldn`t destroy your house and property too would you?
If you found a bit of inspiration by what you just read, we have just reached one of our goals and values. Let`s be sustainable together!