Environmental Knowledge and Sustainable Habits

Just the other day, I was having a deep conversation with some of my flatmates. My flatmate Ilia and I were very concerned because throughout the Murdoch Student Village there are tons of dead and dying bees along the pathways. We assume (but aren’t certain) that this is due to some sort of pesticide or weed killer that is toxic to them. Our other flatmate Eli walked in laughing and mocked us at first, asking if we were the type of people to go around with picket signs reading “Save the Bees!”. We informed Eli that we had never picketed in the past, but since the decline in bee populations is a serious issue we informed him that we actually might join if given the chance. This discussion evolved and soon we were talking about recycling in our flat and trying to create less waste in general. I learned a lot about their ecological footprints and how they view the environment. Since this conversation, I have seen Eli recycling more often . Also, when he sees me tense up because he constantly leaves the water running while he walks around the kitchen, he runs over and turns it off. My presence, in a way, is holding him more accountable for his actions.  Simple conversations like these and spreading environmental awareness can create significant changes in people’s behavior. A small conversation with my flatmates turned into an exchange of knowledge that has already resorted in positive changes in my flatmate’s use of water and his recycling habits. I am happy to have been able to slightly change someone’s behavior in such a short amount of time. Hopefully, the more people that I talk to about sustainable habits and lifestyles, the more people that they will talk to as well. If all of us spread the word, we really can have a very great impact.