Let’s be the change

The definition “Adult education has been among the viable training processes through which any nation utilizes to develop desirable behaviours, skills and attitudes of the citizens“[1] not only puts some light on adult education, but connects it perfectly to the topic of environmental protection. When talking about raising awareness on different issues, this one being the burning one in the last decades, there is no better tool than education. Being recognized as such, it has encompassed a completely new field of study called environmental education. Experts agree that environmental education equips the individuals with knowledge and skills to protect and manage their environment.

The world is changing daily. New technology, new production, new chemicals and new lifestyles affect the environment greatly. Old environmental protection mechanisms are ineffective or, at best, not effective enough. Developing new sustainable ways of life has become the issue of crucial importance. Hopefully, we all agree that we need to live within the environment. Thus, living at the expense of it, which is what we are doing now, is out of question. Therefore, we need a change. As soon as possible.

The best moment for action is now. The best person to start with is – we. We need to educate ourselves first on the new ways of saving energy and being more nature friendly, then our children, friends, students, neighbours. We need to set a positive example each and every day. Those examples do not have to be glorious and heroic ones. Small steps towards our common goal are more than good enough – collecting rubbish in our neighbourhoods once in a while, for instance. When people see a huge pile of litter, they will not hesitate to add some more, but when they see a nice and clean area, they will avoid being the ones who will start ruining it.

To sum the story up, let’s stop waiting for others to push us into action. Let’s act.

Let’s not preach about the long-wanted change. Let’s be the change.