One Planet’s Environment Club members had the chance to exchange ideas with Mrs. Celia Wade Brown, who is a Green Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Celia took time out of her busy schedule, whilst on a trip to London, to join a live video conference with our Environment Club members.
The former Mayor of Wellington and environmental advocate answered interesting questions about her inspirational life experiences posed by the students. Wade Brown was very encouraging about our Environment Club’s vision for a greener lifestyle by following the Four R’s: Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, and Repeat. She was also appreciative of their plastic bottle reduction drive, medicinal garden school plantings, and vernicle garden proposals.
The Green Party MP made us all laugh by recalling the moment that she arrived for a high-profile meeting with Hilary Clinton on a bicycle wearing second-hand but formal attire! Celia encouraged our club members to be politically aware leaders that work with local authorities on a grass-roots level in order to affect positive change and social action.
The Nature Lovers Club’s Li’elena Hailu was present and introduced her school’s environmental action projects. All in all, the meeting was a resounding success and left all present feeling more aware about how to tackle the pressing environmental issues and challenges that we face.
Celia Wade Brown was very impressed with how “well prepared” our students were and pledged to have a follow-up conference with us from New Zealand in a couple of months’ time!
We would like to thank Mrs. Brown for her willingness to dedicate her time and share her experiences with our students.