Environmentalism for Beginners: How to live sustainable & eco-friendly | Tasmin Hansmann | Skillshare
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Environmentalism for Beginners: How to live sustainable & eco-friendly

teacher avatar Tasmin Hansmann, Author, Storyteller, Environmentalist

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Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Watch this class and thousands more

Get unlimited access to every class
Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Lessons in This Class

    • 1.

      Introduction

      3:33

    • 2.

      Class Project

      2:16

    • 3.

      WHY you should care

      5:18

    • 4.

      Everyday Environmentalism

      6:41

    • 5.

      Consumption Habits

      5:19

    • 6.

      Interactions with Nature

      2:23

    • 7.

      What about Plastic

      1:13

    • 8.

      Creativity & the Climate

      1:26

    • 9.

      Political Activism

      1:15

    • 10.

      Intersectionality

      4:02

    • 11.

      Limits to your activism

      0:54

    • 12.

      Do not settle

      2:05

    • 13.

      Mental Health and Eco-Anxiety

      3:33

    • 14.

      Final Thoughts

      2:08

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About This Class

Tasmin Hansmann, an environmentalist and author, usually gives writing and poetry classes on Skillshare.
She has written and published three books: The poetry collections
The Anatomy of Waves and The Eloquence of Hurricanes, which deal with the looming climate crisis, belonging, friendship and heartbreak. Her other book, Welcome Home Dear Soul, is a poetic encounter with death, shaping grief and wonder into an atmospheric story.
Besides writing and teaching she is a freelance creative in the environmental field and a YouTube creator.

This 40-minute class will guide you through your first steps of becoming an environmentalist. It answers important questions – such as Why and How – and gives hands-on advice.

Tasmin introduces you to techniques, ideas and practices that help you become a better ally for our planet. Lessons include:

  • Why environmentalism is important
  • Daily Life Implementations (First Steps)
  • How to lay a foundation for your action
  • Connecting creativity with environmentalism
  • Looking at the bigger picture
  • What to do after the first steps

Whether you’re suffering from climate anxiety and feel helpless or if you just want change and don’t know where to start - this class is here to help you to come to a place of action without feeling guilty or overwhelmed.

After taking this class, you’ll be empowered to stand up for our planet - in whatever way you can and want to do that.

Meet Your Teacher

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Tasmin Hansmann

Author, Storyteller, Environmentalist

Teacher

Hi! My name is Tasmin Hansmann and I am an author, storyteller and environmentalist. So far, I have published my poetry collection The Anatomy of Waves, The Eloquence of Hurricanes and a novella called Welcome Home Dear Soul. I have also released the Azores Travel Journal.

I was born & raised in Germany but I left my old life behind and moved to the Azores Archipelago. Here, I decided to follow my passion and become a full-time writer and immerse myself into the topic of a better future. My daily life consists of (un)learning, creating and growing. And I am here to teach you about this path of creativity and sustainability.

See full profile

Level: Beginner

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Transcripts

1. Introduction: Hello and welcome to environmentalism. For beginners. My name is test mean Huntsman, and I usually make classes on here about writing as I am a full-time freelance creative. And I'm also an author of books like the eloquence of hurricanes, welcome home dear soul, which has a new cover, the anatomy of waves. So usually I talk about writing and being a creative here on Skillshare. But today's class is going to be a little bit different because I am not only an author and a creative and a creator, but I'm also an environmentalist and I've been working in the environmental space for some time now. But I still consider myself on the journey of becoming my full potential environmentalist, if you will. And I know how it feels like to stand in the beginning of this very journey that is so overwhelming. And that is why I wanted to make a class about it to help you get started on a journey of more sustainability and more environmentalism. And if you are wondering why the **** I'm sitting outside where the sun is messing up my lighting and you have all the background noise. That is because I currently unfortunately do not have a filming set up because I don't have an office because I don't have a whole I'm not homeless. I just don't have a home-based right now because my partner and I have been renovating a traditional island home on the Azores archipelago where I moved. If you want to follow that journey, I'm also a YouTube creator, so you can go check those videos out if you want to. But it's been going a lot slower than anticipated and I don't have a space to fill but outside. And to be honest, it is actually quite fitting for the topic to be outside in the environment talking about environmentalism. So my apologies if you can hear the wind or the leaves were oscillating or maybe a car passing by. And if the sun is changing how I look. But yeah, that's what we're going to work with. And I think that's already a great first lesson, that nature sometimes is a bit unpredictable as his life and we just need to embrace it. A few words about this class before we begin. While I do consider myself to be an environmentalist, I of course, do not know every little thing about the climate crisis or what you can do about it. There are amazing activists out there that you should check out and you should also branch out in the areas that you have an interest in to start your journey. This here, what I'm trying to create with this class is really just a baseline to tackle that feeling of being overwhelmed by the crisis and not knowing what to do. I'm here to guide you through the first couple of steps, but I'm not here to explain to you exactly why things are the way they are, or to say this is how to do it and there is no other way I have written on this journey for a couple of years now, but I am still learning every single day. And dad is really also something that I can also already give to you. And that is the fact that the journey doesn't start and end with a single day or a single decision. It is something that continuously grows. And we all continuously learn and develop and change things. And this class really just trying to help you to make those first steps and understand where you can get started. With that being said, let's go. 2. Class Project: As I've already mentioned in the introduction, this journey to environmentalism or a life that is more in alignment with the environment and with sustainability, is a journey that takes awhile and comes in many different forms and often in many different steps. Which is why the class project is also divided into three little steps, but you can all share them in a single post under the Project and Resources tab down below. First step, I would love to know how your ideal world would look like. You can just write it down in a single short sentence. Or you can maybe share some art that you created or poetry. Anything you'd like. Just share with us how the world would look like if you could create it and if it was a much better world than it is now, the second step of the class project is to share with us how you are already having some sustainable habits in your life. This can be as small as picking up litter on the way to the subway, or as big as leading a protest or starting a self-sufficient farm. Whatever it may be, as small or as big as your actions are. I would love to know what you are already doing before the class begins. What are you already doing to create this better world that you are dreaming off? And the third and final part of the class project is that I would love to know what you think. Are your next steps going to look like? How are you going to improve what you're already doing? Or just in general, what are your next steps on your environmentalism journey made inspired by this class or bead, inspired also by your peers sharing their own journeys down under the project below, I'm so excited to hear from you getting conversation with you see all of your projects, read about your ILD ideal worlds and you know how we can all create a better future together. Again, please don't forget that even the smallest steps are completely valid and important and needed. And there's no judgment here. And yeah, I'm just excited to get inspired by all of you. 3. WHY you should care: Now that you know who I am and how the class project is going to look like. I wanted to take the opportunity and just discuss why environmentalism is important and why your action matters. Because if you're not already active in that field, you might ask yourself, why is environmentalism even important? Why, why should I care? First of all, that is, of course, a question that everyone needs to answer for themselves in a personal mentor, maybe you care because you have children. You want to provide a better world for them. Or maybe your younger self and you want to have a better future. Or maybe you have seen some of the destruction or have learned about what is happening with the climate crisis. Maybe a hurricane has wrecked your home, whatever it may be. There are billion personal reasons why you might care about this issue or why you should care about this issue? I cannot answer your personal why question. I'm sure once you sit with the question, you will find an answer. And I know I can also not change your mind. If you do not care, you do not care. But since you click on this class, I'm pretty sure you do, at least a part of you does. And if you are one of those people who still has some doubts of why environmentalism is important. Let me explain, basically the climate crisis and everything that is connected to it, from biodiversity loss to social injustices, is something that affects every single one of us. Even if you personally have not experienced something specific that you can pinpoint to the climate crisis. It is affecting you in passive and very active ways. And the fight for a better world and against the climate crisis or environmentalism, or however you want to call it, is a fight for our planet, which is our home. And it is a fight for our future. And you might be like, yes, Tasman, I get that. But I'm just a single individual. What am I supposed to do to have any impact at all? And that is a very good question. I have been at the same point for a very long time and I come to this point over and over again. Because this whole crisis, especially the more you learn about it, it's just so overwhelming and scary. And it is completely valid to feel overwhelmed, scared, and in grief over what has already lost. But let me tell you that every single fighter, every single person, every single action as small as it may be, counts, every single one of us is important, not only because all the things we do have an impact and also can cause a ripple effect of course. But also because the more we are, the more power we have. A huge reason why the climate crisis is the way it is, is because of power imbalances. And that is also why it's so often feels like we don't have any power and we cannot do anything about it because It's the politicians and the companies and the big players out there who have the power. And so I might not be able to change much. But here's the thing. The more of us come together, the more of this power imbalance disappears. And maybe at this point in your life, you say you don't want to be an activist or maybe you just don't have the time to be a full-time activist or an environmentalist to get all deep into the topic or to be at every protest. And that's also okay. You do not need to be a full-time activist to be an environmentalist or to be more environmentally friendly, to live more sustainable and more in alignment and therefore fight for a better future. You also do not need to be an expert on every single topic that is connected to the climate crisis and all it's things that are connected that is pretty impossible to be informed about everything as the issue is so complex. So drop those worries, drop the expectations. You are good enough and all your actions matter, even if they're small, you can still consider yourself an activist. If you do things with intention, if you move towards a better world actively and think about the things that you do and do educate yourself however slow and however specific this may look like for you. Lastly, you might ask yourself, isn't Hope already lost, isn't it too late? And I'm here to tell you, no, it's not. Hope is not lost. Every day, more and more people are waking up to this crisis and are doing more and more, more and more alternative solutions, innovations are being made. And hope is not lost. I know it can sum, the wind agrees. I know it's sometimes can feel like it. I have been at this point so many times I stopped counting. But hope is not lost. It's not too late. But if we don't act soon, it might be at some point. 4. Everyday Environmentalism: Now that we have established why it is so important that we all act and that hope is not lost. Let's talk about everyday environmentalism. Small things that each one of us can do. As a little disclaimer, I've got to say that all of our lives and experiences and opportunities look different. Some things that I might be able to do, you might not be able to do and vice versa. So of course, it is a very individual thing and you need to navigate in your own life, your opportunities and your possibilities of how to implement environmentalism into your daily life. However, there is no excuse not to at least try to change your life, your everyday life in little ways. And those things might not even seem that impactful at first glance. But if a lot of us are doing this, the impact is massive. And again, every small action counts I'm repeating myself, but it is important. I have summarized seven key areas that you can start with to implement environmentalism into your daily life. First lab, question, everything. This might be the most important step of all of them. And that is really to go ahead and ask questions and be critical. This does not mean that you do not trust anyone anymore. This does not mean that you don't believe people or stories anymore or that everything is fake. That is not what this means. It just means that you start to ask questions, especially when someone or something once your money. I mean, critical questions like, oh, does planting trees to set off my carbon footprint really work? Does the company I buy product X from? Do they do fair business? Do they try to be better? Do they hurt humans or the environment? What, or who is behind a certain certificate or study? It is questions like this that make a huge difference in your life. That doesn't mean you cannot still buy the product, but it is important that you start thinking critical to small actions make the difference. I've talked about this already in this class multiple times. But if you just don't know where to start, start with these type of small actions and work your way up from there. It can be as simple as picking up trash, reducing waste, eating more plant-based, buying local and purchasing or less or second-hand, if you can, if every one of us was just doing a few small little habit changes, the world would already look vastly different. Three, educate yourself. Constant education is absolutely crucial for an environmental conscious alive. And that does not mean that you go to university and study environmental studies, or that you only read non-fiction science books? Not at all. First of all, if you are into books, there are climate fiction books, e.g. but you don't need to read books at all or studies or articles, whatever media format works best for you to learn. Just pick it, watch documentaries, follow influencers online. Learn more about indigenous people or again, follow some indigenous people online. All these kind of things. Knowledge is everywhere. And you can just start wherever it feels best for you. You do not need a degree, but you need curiosity and open-mind and the determination to always seek out more to learn. Continue to educate yourself like you're doing right in this second as you're watching this class. So thank you for already doing the first step. For start conversations. This is either the easiest or the hardest task on this list. For me personally, it is by far hands down the hardest task and something that I still need to learn and improve on. But for other people, this comes very easy. And it is very important to start conversations about the climate crisis, possible solutions and things that each one of us can do to improve. This does not mean you need to fight with your relatives during the holiday. This just means to have conversations, either calling someone out, but it can also just be a conversation with other like-minded people or with friends. Or just, again, just a simple discussion without pointing fingers are saying this and this is how you need to do it because that often doesn't get you the result that you want to meet people where they're at. But however you do it, just use your voice. Five, support activists and organizations. As I said, not all of us can be full-time activist and that is okay. But all of us can support activists and organizations that have dedicated their life and their work to the environment and the planet. This can happen in the form of donating money or resources or your time for volunteering. But it doesn't need to. Sometimes, especially in the age of social media, it is as easy as following those people online and liking their content and sharing it with others. Another thing that is just as quick and easy and doesn't cost you a sense of money and not a lot of your time is signing petitions. Six, take it seriously. If you truly want to become an environmentalist or someone that just lives more in alignment with nature or tries to create a better world, you need to take the situation seriously. The whole climate crisis fight is not a trend, it is an emergency and it is very, very real and need to be treated as such. It involves taking the whole issue truly seriously and also acknowledging your privilege and power in the situation or the lack thereof. But it also means to not give up the hope to constantly expand your efforts and education and to take care of your mental health. But more on that later seven, being more cautious, we all need to become more cautious when it comes to our decisions, our habits, and our intentions. For this beginner's Skillshare class, I have three topics that I would like to talk about more that you should be more cautious in these three topics are nature, plastic, and consumption. And we're going to talk about them in the next lessons. 5. Consumption Habits: First up is the area of consumption in your life. There is this big quote often going around saying there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. And this might be true, but it is unfortunately often used as an excuse to just continue as you have always done and to consume like you have always done. But that is a problem now that that x cubed is out of the way. And before we dive further into the topic of consumption, there's a little disclaimer I need to make. The way we consume is a choice, but it is one that can be drastically limited by the availability of alternatives and personal as well as financial circumstances. As long as you do whatever you can, you are doing enough. Consumption is a very broad field that affects pretty much every area of our lives, but the one that probably affects us the most and pretty much on a daily basis. Our groceries, groceries are a difficult topic because of course, we all need food and drink and the whole food production system is pretty broken and it is very hard to escape that and make good choices. I will not get very deep into this. But the bottom line is that basically nothing that you can buy an irregular supermarket is sustainable. That is a very sad truth, and unfortunately something that is hard to escape. But there are some things that you can do. First of all, you can change your nutrition and move towards a more plant-based diet. This does not mean you need to be vegan, but it can mean that if that is something for you, I personally am not vegan, but I always try to be aware where my food comes from, which impacted has, and how I can do it better. And I'm also growing a part of my food myself. You can also try to focus on eating more locally and more seasonally. If you e.g. have a farmer's market nearby and can afford to buy the products they're trying to do so. You can also learn how to cook from scratch and with leftovers to reduce food waste and get a closer connection to what you eat. And in the same vein, you can learn how to grow your own food. Even if you do not have a backyard, you can grow herbs and low maintenance plants inside your apartment or on your balcony. You can also learn more about how certain foods are grown and make your decisions from there. It will never be perfect, but it will always be more cautious than before. The next area of consumption that I would like to talk about is just the general thing of shopping. This has become a huge thing in our capitalistic consumerist society. And it is something that we can drastically reduce, at least most of us. When I talk about shopping, I talk about all the things you can possibly talk about from tech to home decor. But of course, the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word shopping is fashion and beauty. And unfortunately, the fashion and beauty industry is one of the biggest polluters off the planet and really needs to be tackled. What you can do is to realize that shopping is, in most cases, I'm not saying in all cases, but in most cases, shopping is an absolute luxury and not always necessary. The bottom line of it all is we need to consume less every one of us. But if you do need to buy things questioned to brands and industry that you buy from. And if you really want to support them with your money, do not blindly believe marketing. And if you can try and go through lifting, renting, or supporting local small businesses. Of course, switching to more sustainable brands is a great first step, but it is not accessible for everyone and does not solve the real problem. We need to change the way we consume and buy less new things in order to truly have an impact. For this, you can e.g. learn how to fix or recycle your own clothes or maybe even make your own wellness products or clothing. And all of that can be a game changer. And finally, where your clothes until they fall apart. Yes, I know decluttering your closet feel so refreshing and great. But throwing clothes away or even donating them with, which is its own issue that we're not talking about today. Don't really solve the problem. They only create new ones. And if you just wear what you have, you are already doing so much. For all purchases, be at clothing, beauty, cars, work your tools, media, online subscriptions, takeaway, food, toys, hair dye, all of the things. Everything follows the same rules. Ask questions. Inform yourself. Check alternatives, check if it is truly needed. Beware of greenwashing and make the best choice. You can. Ask yourself, which areas of your life are you willing to cut back on and start from there? 6. Interactions with Nature: Now that we have tackled the topic of consumption, let's talk about our interactions with nature. First up, we need to realize that we are in fact nature. I am not separate from the plants behind me and the animals surrounding me in the air I breathe and the water I drink. We are all nature. It is not separate from us. It is also not a nice background for your photos and videos. Those things are ecosystems and they are alive in so many incredible ways. Treat all nature from the waterfall and the mighty mountain all the way down to the bugs. With respect. And remember that all of this is our home, yours and mine. And that all things that are alive here are some things that you can do to improve your interactions with nature. Do not leave any waste. And if you see waist, take it with you. Do not pick or take flowers, stones, or sand at Will. You are not the only one doing it, and therefore it is harmful. Do not go into wild areas unless you have a professional local guide or are on a designated path, do not support zoos, aquariums, wildlife tourist attraction, etc. Unless you're 100% certain that they are not having a bad impact on the environment. Spend as much time as you can in nature, but do it mindfully and without harming the environment by flying, leaving garbage, and so on. Ask yourself how to bring nature back into your living area so you can establish a strong relationship and a strong bond with nature. Educate yourself on endemic plants and animals in your home region and support the people who are fighting to protect them or to try to bring them back. If you are on the American or Australian continent, find out which indigenous group the land you live on or that you're visiting belongs to. Do not poison water with any chemicals, bead, bleach, or color or pharmaceuticals. Support your local nature. Protectors support clean energy, recognized nature as our home parent and as an equal with the same rights to life, joy, and peace as us. 7. What about Plastic: We have already talked about consumption in nature, but what about plastic? This topic seems to be everywhere, especially when it comes to environmental discussions. So let's talk about it. Plastic is everywhere as you're looking at me right now, it is in my glasses, in my clothes on the microphone I'm wearing. It is everywhere and it is pretty much impossible to live a completely plastic free life nowadays, this is unfortunately a huge problem as most plastic cannot be recycled or composted, which means the plastic bottle that you just drink your water out of. We'll still be around decades after you have passed on. Also, there are a lot of different types of plastics and some are worse than others. Plastic is a very complex topic that needs a lot of education to be fully understood. And it is a very morally gray thing as plastic has also enabled us to do a lot of great things. As a beginner, all you really need to know is reduce, reuse, and refuse as much as possible. 8. Creativity & the Climate: Now that we have discussed the key elements on how to become more sustainable, I want to take one of these lessons to quickly talk about creativity and climate. As you are on Skillshare, you are probably a creative person, which is awesome. Im2, welcome to because you can use your skills, talents, Hobbes, end, maybe even work if you are a full-time artist to have an impact. And the possibilities for this are almost endless. But some of the things you can do are send a direct message about today's issues in whatever it is you are creating. Explore history or potential future scenarios in your work. Creates something that gives hope. Get involved in projects for a better world like rewriting extinction, the climate fiction writers League, and so on. Alternatively, you can also create escapism, which is important for our collective mental health. And finally, make your work as sustainable as possible. If you want to get more in-depth about the crossover between creativity and creating during a crisis. I recommend you check out my other class, which is about creating during a crisis. Just know that whatever you do in your creativity, if you consider the crisis and the possible better future, you are already an activist. And that is amazing. 9. Political Activism: Another topic that I also just briefly want to mention is political activism, as this is a very personal thing that also looks different depending on where you live and what your political opinions are. But your local environmentalists can probably provide you with a lot more information if you want to become active in the political space, the only thing I am going to say is that ignorance is political too. If you're doing nothing because you're afraid or politics seem too big to tackle. You're still having an impact and probably not the one that you would like. You do not have to become a politician to change things. Although you can, if you'd like to, as a regular citizen in most countries, you can do the following. Vote, preferably for someone who has the planet on their agenda. Signed petitions, go to protests, support organizations that actively work with the law. Organized protests, make petitions, et cetera. Vote with your money. Speak up, be it on social media, in private conversations or in other forums. And finally, educate yourself on intersectionality, which is the next thing I'm going to talk about. 10. Intersectionality: Intersectionality is something that is incredibly important for all areas of life, but especially when it comes to activism, and that includes the climate activism. But what does intersectionality mean exactly? Intersectionality means the interconnected nature of social categorization such as race, class, and gender, as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. It basically means that the lived experience of a person is a combination of all things considered. Their race, their gender, sexual orientation, mental health, physical health, potential disability, and so on and so forth. An example of how this is true in the environmental space is e.g. that people of color, both in North America as well as pretty much globally, are much more effected by the immediate effects of the climate crisis. Then rich white people are, even though historically they have contributed far less to the situation becoming this bad due to social injustices. They also generally have a lot less power to change things immediately. These inequalities and the list of those is endless, are very important whenever we talk about climate change, there are many other examples like coal mines being built closer to poor people's neighborhoods. Island states being flooded by rising sea levels. Droughts affecting people who have done barely nothing too. Inflict the climate crisis onto themselves are garbage is being transported to Asian and African countries. And the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is taking away indigenous land. Despite indigenous people being one of the biggest guardians of the remaining biodiversity, despite only being such a small population that is left. This intersectionality also means that the fight for human rights is very much interconnected with the fight for a better planet. What this means for you, especially if you are a white person like me, it is important that vulnerable communities, countries and ethnicities need to be heard. They need to be listened to, they need to be supported and uplifted. This is especially true for indigenous people. They only make up 5% of the world's population, but they protect 80% of the global biodiversity. And they face incredible discrimination, which is why I wanted to highlight them here. Specifically, activism does not only mean to take individual action, but it also means to listen and rethink the world as we see it right now. We also need to realize that maybe others need to lead the way. I e.g. as a white person from Europe, I come from a place that has inflicted so much harm on other people and on the environment that the solutions for this crisis will most likely not come from us. So we need to give the lead to other people. If you are in a position of privilege, however, that looks like for you, use the privilege for creating change, but makes sure to uplift those with a lack of power along the way. If you are a part of a marginalized group, makes sure to claim your space and do not be afraid to think of new, creative and unusual ways to heal the planet and humanity. Do not the current system break you or take away your potential. But of course, an experience like being marginalized can limit your activism. And about that, we're going to talk in the next lesson. 11. Limits to your activism: After all these things that we've just discussed, I also want to quickly mention again that there are limits to your activism. You might be limited by the politics in your country, by your financial situation, by your health. However, we don't need experts in all fields. As I said, 100 times every small act counts. We do not need a few people doing environmental action perfectly. We need countless people doing it imperfectly. However, that looks like for you. However, please do not take this as an excuse to do nothing or just the bare minimum of action. Always try to thrive for better and for improvement and for doing the most that you can. It might take longer and it might look different for you, and there might be limitations. But do not use it as an excuse. 12. Do not settle: As I just mentioned in the limitations pride when I said do not use your limitations as an excuse to do nothing. Also, do not settle. What I mean by that is that doing something good in getting started with small action is important and is valid. But it should never be. Your last step. Being an environmentalist or even just being sustainable means to always strive for waste to do better and to learn to expand your habits and knowledge. One good habit or choice does not balance out the bad that you have already done or the bat that you're still doing. This, again does not mean that you need to be perfect in every area of your life. But if you say you're a vegan for the environment, but you fly on a vacation five times a year. It doesn't add up. If you say, Oh, I recycle, but I do buy a new phone every year. It doesn't add up recycling, buying secondhand, being vegan, or eating more plant-based or however, the first steps are going to look like for you, our grade. First steps, with the emphasis on first, there always needs to be improvement. There always needs to be further steps. Again, of course, there are limitations depending on who you are, where you live, and how your life looks like. But you should always strive to do better. What is important here is the holistic picture and the acknowledgment that you can always do better and strive towards it, even if you will not accomplish everything at once. The climate emergency affects us all, and therefore we all need to do our best even if it gets uncomfortable. This sentiment, by the way, also holds true for the big players of the crisis. Because of course, we as individuals carry far less guilt and big companies, politicians, celebrities, the people with power and a lot of the money. So do not settle for their promises or their little effort. Ask for more. Do not settle. 13. Mental Health and Eco-Anxiety: As I just mentioned in the last lesson, the big companies, politicians and celebrities, have so much more impact than us. And I wish, I wish so much that I could tell you that someone is coming to save us. But the reality is, it is up to us to take action. And that is scary and overwhelming. And it can cause you to have problems with your mental health. It can cause something called climate anxiety or eco anxiety. I know this very well. I struggled with this on a daily basis. And this is why a part of being an environmentalist is also to take care of yourself and take care of your mental health. This can look 100 different ways. This can look like tuning out. This can look like escaping into a good book or a good movie. Or to realize that a lot of the responsibility is not on us, the consumer button, the people making the big decisions. But ultimately the only thing that truly helps against climate anxiety is to take action. This is the only thing that has helped me. And every other person that I've ever heard talk about climate or eco anxiety or anything else regarding mental health and the climate, take action. It is the only way out of this. For me. Every time I actually do something like e.g. creating this class, I feel strength and courage and hope instead of despair. Because action transforms fear and hopelessness into a force for the good. Being an environmentalist does not mean to be dead serious and anxious every day. It simply means to see the problem and take action. In fact, it means to believe in hope and become a part of a global movement full of diverse and wonderful fighters dedicated to a better world. And yes, it is totally valid to tune out sometimes and distract yourself. We have all been there as long as you do not run away completely because ignorance has never solved any problems, it is totally fine to tune out sometimes. Some other tips for dealing with climate or eco anxiety include connecting with other people, especially within the environmental space. This has given me so much hope and motivation to do better. And I feel so much less alone in this fight. The climate movement is much better than you would expect. You are not alone. Celebrate the good, good news, good personal things, healing, the beauty of the big and small things. Cultivate gratitude and allow yourself to feel joy. And finally, connect with nature. Go for a walk, go for a hike, whatever you need to do to reconnect with nature and with your own nature as well. Do it. This might be the one magic piece of advice because at least for me, it has always brought me back to joy and to have the motivation to keep on going even when things are hard. Because it reminds you that this beauty out the hair is what we're fighting for. To keep this magical world as wonderful as it is. And to fight for it, and to fight to keep it and to fight to let it grow. 14. Final Thoughts: Thank you so much for taking this class. I hope you learned something and I'm gonna give you a little summary of all the things we have discussed today in this class, you have learned, first of all, that environmentalism is important in all its unique forums and stages. You have also learned that everyday environmentalism means to question everything, to constantly educate yourself, to take action, support those who are on the forefront and to take the issue seriously. You also learned that we need to change the way we consume from food too close to tack and everything else. We have also discussed the importance of treating nature with deep respect and the necessity of protecting it. We have also learned that all our actions are political, even when we don't act at all. And that you can always go a step further and do more, especially when it comes to intersectionality. We have also established that we should not settle, not in our own actions, nor in our expectations from those in power. In the last few lessons, we have also discussed that limitations to your climate activism, as well as climate anxiety, are very real, but should never be used as an excuse to do nothing. Lastly, and maybe here on Skillshare. Most importantly, your creativity can be your superpower in the fight against the climate emergency. Use it wisely. If you have any questions about the contents of this class or any of the lessons, or if you're simply looking for an exchange either with me or any of the other students. Please use the discussions function down below. I will see you there. Thank you again so much. I'm so excited to see and read all of your class projects. Until then, you can find me on my website, on YouTube, or in my books. Goodbye.