And that’s that. My final year at the university has come and gone and with it so has my time working for the Student Green Office. Looking back on my time as an SGO Project Officer I can honestly say that whilst I may not have achieved the billion and one things I’d set out at the start of the role, it has been an incredibly valuable experience for me.

People who know me will know that I am anxious person, and a lot of that anxiety exists within the environment. For a long time, the people who I have surrounded myself with have not typically shared my feelings about nature. It seemed there to be only two main types of people that I would meet: those who didn’t believe climate change to be such a big concern or those who chose to bury their heads in the sand. It began to feel quite lonely as an environmentalist, noticing that people did not share in my worries… worries that seemingly affect us equally. My anxieties began to fester.

Joining the SGO team at the time I did was essentially my golden ticket. For the first time I was working alongside people who shared not just my love for nature but understood my worries. This sudden understanding led me to feel confident in my fellow man once again, and I began to research stories any positives surrounding the environment and stories of hope. Very quickly I became inspired to do more to motivate others and promote positivity surrounding our natural world.

I also learnt some big lessons along the way.

A big truth I have realised is that whilst I know sustainability is hugely important, the busyness of everyday living can make it hard to put it at the heart of everything we do. People aren’t bad people because it isn’t always there at the forefronts of their minds. Because life is… busy. And its ok to focus on yourself, and to prioritise yourself; for your career, mental health, relationships, or whatever. We won’t always have it in us to be heroes. And generally, at the end of the day people will still return to caring about what’s important. And that’s a good reason to feel hope.

Lastly, the news we may hear can feel quite full of dread, but the media likes to feed on fear. Be it big or small, there are plenty of people whose actions are going a long way to make this world a better place. People who are fighting for the sake of the next generations and the planet which we are stewards for. The Earth may be hurting, but it the is actions led by people all over the world that are allowing it to heal. I don’t know about you, but I believe that is enough of a reason to feel inspired, proud and to smile.

I think it’s good to learn these lessons. You don’t always have to be the hero but take inspiration from the world around us. If you take a look a good look, you’ll see that it’s full of some pretty great people.

Thanks for reading.

Harry.

By Harry Cooper, SGO Projects Officer

Want to read more? Jack, Halle and Jenny also wrote blogs this year..