Youth with an Environmental-friendly Dream – from Student NPO to Law School

In 2001, three years before I was born, Typhoon Nari hit our beautiful home, Taiwan. My dad, who was a clothes vendor then, got into debt of 1 million NTD because all the fabric he stored in the basement was soaked by water. That tragedy had nearly broken my family apart. I didn’t know much about the event when I was little, all I knew was that my family lives a tougher life than most of my classmates’. My parents had told me that everything that happens in life has its own meaning, so I thought of the meaning of the flood from time to time.

Many questions can be answered by time, including this one. After growing up, I learnt that massive flooding is a typical phenomenon of climate change, and according to the World Health Organization, climatic change causes over 150,000 deaths annually.¹ What’s more, at least 85 percent of the world’s population has been affected by human-induced climate change.² After learning that the tragedy wasn’t just a random natural disaster, but a man-made  catastrophe which other families in the world were also suffering from, I knew I had to do something.

I took my first action when I was 10 years old. In 2013, the unbelievable documentary about albatross on Midway Island shocked the whole world. As a result, my classmates and I decided to start a program focusing on marine conservation in the following year.³ We did some research on related topics, took actions such as beach cleaning and educating other classmates about how urgent the issue is. We also set up a website to record our actions and expand our influence with the help of technology. This experience taught me the basic skills I need for starting a campaign and making changes in society.

In high school, with more knowledge and skills gained, I decided to do something bigger. Recognising that the environment of a campus has a strong impact on students' learning outcomes, physical health and mental well-being4, and that campus greening is an effective measure to achieving the 11th sustainable development goals of the United Nations, sustainable cities and communities5, I started some research and actions on the topic. My partners and I first published a paper including thematic maps and advice on campus greening for our school, then held several environmental education activities.6 This time, aside from researching skills, I also learnt to focus more on the target audience instead of the campaign itself. At first, not many students were interested in this topic. However, after combining campus greening with food education, many started to join us. After all, who doesn't like cuisines? And only by making them truly fall in love with our environment can we expect them to protect the environment from the bottom of their heart.

The experience had also inspired me to hold a book fair7. I introduced books concerning environmental topics of different working fields, providing examples of how people in different areas help save our planet. I would especially like to inform others that they can do many things for our plant without “giving up earning money”. Everyone who visited my book fair agreed that they are capable of and will do more for the environment.

The biggest approach I’ve made so far to make our environment better is to team up as Unplastify Youth with my peers in 20208. Our vision is “To eliminate plastic, and to make our land a sweet home where it is friendly to both humans and the environment”. We take real actions in homes, in schools, and in communities. By July, 2022, we’ve reduced at least 25000 plastic bags, and reached over 80000 people. To maximize our influence, we made every one of our programs measurable, sustainable and duplicatable. The adventure of Unplastify Youth taught me a lot about being a leader of social change movements, including how to motivate others, how to delegate and how to go further with teamwork.

Furthermore, through the unplastifying process, I started to notice something bigger. That is, the regulations governing all production and consumption. Law is a fundamental part of life, and there is so much a comprehensive policy can do for the environment. Thus, after graduating from high school, I chose to major in Law. Aside from proposing solutions to real-world problems through design and innovation, I also look forward to tackling more challenging problems and impacting more individuals through policy-making.