Behind Green Steps: Sophia

- Do you have a Nickname?
Filipinos love to give nicknames to the point that we refer to our politicians by their nicknames. Our nicknames usually have little to do with our actual names. Within my family, I have many nicknames, such as “Pops” or “Potato”, and the only logical thread I can see is that they have to have a “p” and an “o” somehow.

- Explain to a stranger what do you do for Green Steps?
Although my stay was short, I supported Greensteps by participating in the school gardens, the maintenance and creation of quests for the ARK, as well as research to improve the biodiversity richness measure for the mapping tool.

- What is your daily routine? What is something you like doing and your coworkers maybe don’t know about you?
As I have been traveling and volunteering for the past year, I currently don’t have a daily routine. Every place and community is different and so it really depends on where and with whom I am. Where I can, I try to do my daily yoga in the morning, right after I wake up. It’s my favourite way to start the day, as it gets me energised and it’s usually the only part of the day that I can control and predict how much time I will have.

- Use less than 250 words to tell a story about yourself: starting from “where are you from” to the choice of joining Green Steps.
I was born in Manila, Philippines but grew up in Geneva, Switzerland. Since an early age, I’ve been exposed to many different cultures and the idea of travel, which nurtured a deep sense of “Wanderlust” in me. Growing up, I was exposed to the world of development aid and international organisations, pushing me to study international relations and dreaming of working at the UN. But after some travel and volunteer work, I connected with the natural world quite intimately through the grassroots sector, pushing me to study Natural Resource Management and engage in various forms of environmental activism in Berlin, Germany. After graduating and working in the field of community food sustainability, I decided to orient myself towards my true passions: nature restoration and climate justice. Again my restless soul demanded a change in scenery, which settled on Glasgow, Scotland. But while waiting for my visa, I decided to take a year to travel and volunteer around Europe, bringing me to Green Steps. Despite all my volunteering, I had never engaged in environmental education before, despite knowing that it is crucial to revolutionise our society.

- Mention a book you read as a teenager that still tells something about you, and that you would still suggest reading.
Being part of the “Harry Potter” generation, I grew up with a love for fantasy but in my early teenage years, I became preoccupied with other matters and stopped reading for a few years. One day, I randomly began to read “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern, a magical realism fiction with extremely evocative and beautiful descriptions of a magical circus. It re-ignited my love for reading and its ability to transport me to other worlds. I always thought that the older I get, the less fantasy I would read but actually, I realise that the older I get, the more fantasy is exactly what I need to deal with the difficult times we live.

- How do you expect you and Green Steps to have an impact in the next years? Close with a wish for the organization.
I trust that Green Steps will have an increasing impact on schoolchildren in the area by continuing to offer place-based education. Hopefully, these children will grow up having an intimate connection with nature, which will develop into a stewardship. I will take my learnings from Green Steps with me towards thinking of how to make nature more accessible for all people.