Ever wondered how much your lifestyle and consumerism is impacting the environment that surrounds you? How driving to work everyday, all by yourself in your car, commuting by bus or train or even on a plane influences your carbon footprint? Well, first of all- you're not alone and secondly, you're already on the right track, keep digging (to calculate your carbon footprint and see what you can do to offset it? - click here)! Because it's thoughts like these which sparked the journey of - to me - one of the most inspiring, authentic and thus influential NGOs on this planet: Greenpop.
In 2010 Misha Teasdale, Greenpop's CEO, asked himself exactly that and decided to offset his carbon footprint, from traveling various miles per plane for the company he used to work for at that time, by planting 1000 trees in one day. What an impossible and chaotic idea you think? But I think history has never been shaped by anything but boldness and the right amount of craziness.
"I say onto you: one must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Needless to say (with the help of amazing friends) Misha managed to do it and even more so got hooked on the whole concept. Thus, Greenpop was born, with his two friends Lauren (formerly O'Donnell, now not only Misha's working partner but also life-partner and with him the first originator of the O'Dale clan - can you tell that I ship them a little too much?) and Jeremy Hewitt (now known as the infamous feel good musician Jeremy Loops.) .... Fast forward eight years later. The number of trees planted by the Greenpop team and all those volunteers and active change-makers has now amounted to over 85 THOUSAND, benefitting over 350,000 people spread over three countries on a daily basis. Now come again with too bold and too crazy!
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead
There are many reasons why Greenpop has been so successful in its agenda to reforest the world and reconnect us with nature. First of all its the team's incredibly contagious energy. Their "can-do" attitude and pure passion for their cause are impossible to ignore and while I was able to experience the Greenpop working environment first hand as an intern, back in 2014, I found myself completely hooked by their happy vibes and determination. Choosing to do a Masters at the School of Earth and Environment and rethinking my lifestyle radically, even this blog, all of that really is on them, sparking an essential shift in my thinking and doing.
Coming into work back then absolutely wasn't like entering your typical 9 to 5 job. It felt more like meeting up with friends to work on a project everybody is honestly caring about and happy to put as much energy into as possible. Coworkers became family within an instant and I am pretty sure nobody at Greenpop ever felt the need for something like an actual hierarchy. Everybody felt welcome and respected and the positive energy and passion for the organisation, spread by Misha and Lauren, was incredibly contagious. Plus, since everybody was absolutely rooting for the same team - go mother nature! - everyone, intern and finance manager alike were treated as valuable team members, who's work and experience were appreciated.
Most of us stayed in touch, came back to work for Greenpop for good, popped in for Friday office lunches whenever back in Cape Town (the loveliest, most of the time vegan lunches, each time prepared by someone else from the office, followed with recaps of the week and inspirational videos which are then discussed in the group) OR participates in their events. And I can only recommend, if you ever want to experience some life-changing, heartwarming, mind-opening projects, then do visit Greenpop's website and register to be active instead of anxious about climate change and environmental degradation with all its devastating side-effects! I surely enjoyed planning the Platbos Reforest Fest, in the magical, most southern indigenous forest of South Africa, and found my tribe for live during the Zambia Festival of Action.
If you don't want to or can't travel that far, but still want to support their cause in (re-)connecting humans with mother nature and spreading more ecological and green mindsets, why not gift trees to your next loved one's birthday or to yourself? They will be planted during Greenpop's reforestation events in Southern Africa, and you will receive a personalised donation card with GPS data of the whereabouts of your tree - pretty treetastic hey? :)
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
- Chinese Proverb
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