Empowering environmental change: Insights from our Nature Now students.

30.04.2024 l by Katie Noyed

Back from St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Mattia and Claudia reflect on their experiences.

This April, we celebrated the return of our Nature Now students Mattia (19)  and Claudia (27) from their project period at Richmond Vale Academy (RVA) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). Both students are from Italy but have different backgrounds. Mattia had just finished high school in Bologna, where he had a focus on music, and Claudia had an academic background in forestry, holding a master’s in forest science. It was a passion for environmental issues that brought both students to the programme. 

Now, entering the final month of the Nature Now programme known as ‘Bring it to the Public,’ Outreach Coordinator Katie had the chance to sit down with them and hear about their experiences thus far. In reference to the three-month training period, Claudia spoke to DRH Lindersvold’s philosophy of ‘learning by doing,’ sharing:  

The fact that we built a greenhouse during the training period really helped a lot. Sometimes, during the project period, if I felt that I didn’t know how to do something, I would think about my time in Denmark, where even if I didn’t know how to do something, I would try, and it would work out. So I gained confidence!

Mattia reflected on the impact the training period had on his time supporting climate projects in SVA:

I think the theoretical part – all of the studies about poverty and quality of life — helped to understand the reason why we’re helping. The people there work a lot every day, and we come from a very privileged environment, so for me, that was the reason why I should try to work as hard as them or even harder.

During the project period, Mattia and Claudia supported RVA’s Home Garden Project. With the guidance of the local project leader and using the principles of permaculture, they worked together with the community to support Vincentian families in developing and maintaining home gardens. The goal of this project is to not only support families in producing their own ecological food but also boost the local economy, decrease the island’s dependence on imports, and promote biodiversity. 

In addition to supporting the home garden project, Mattia and Claudia also had the chance to present at community meetings. Here, they would share information on ecological farming techniques such as the ‘lasagna bed’ – a method of using different layers of organic matter to create an active, living soil – while also expressing the benefits of such approaches. In this way, community involvement was at the heart of this project. Similarly, they were also able to participate in community beach clean-ups and have discussions about environmental education and waste management. Claudia shares:

We went for a beach clean-up in one of the communities. It was a really nice day, and a lot of kids joined. The only problem is that there is a lack of environmental education. When people see that the ocean brings trash, they feel more free to also throw their own. 

In this light, the beach clean-ups presented a community-centred opportunity for discussions, knowledge sharing, and supporting future generations in forming good environmental practices. 

Although Claudia and Mattia’s time in the Nature Now programme is coming to a close, their knowledge and experiences will last a lifetime. During the next few weeks, they will be sharing their experiences across Denmark as part of the Bring it to the Public period. Congratulations to Mattia and Claudia – we are proud of you!

Would you or someone you know like to participate in the Nature Now programme? There’s still time to register for the team, which starts on the 5th of August. To take your first step, book a time to talk to our team here.

“The people there work a lot every day, and we come from a very privileged environment, so for me, that was the reason why I should try to work as hard as them or even harder.”