Hi, my name is Sammara Audi. Friends of the Urban Forest is starting its first Public Relations Internship and I have been offered the opportunity to be the first intern!
I started becoming more aware of climate change and how important saving the environment is at around age 12. We were taught about the environment and global warming at school, however I didn’t understand the urgency of the topic until I was 12. That’s when I was allowed to get Instagram and was exposed to more ideas and the many movements growing online. After seeing many people post about climate change, I would share posts or send them to friends. I spent a good deal of my time educating myself about the consequences of climate change, and the human impacts that cause it, and I tried to find solutions or to make changes to my daily life in order to become more environmentally friendly. I held many conversations with peers and family members, trying to persuade them to change certain aspects of their lives or to at least get them to inform themselves on the matter in an attempt to help save the planet. Most of the time that didn’t work, or classmates ignored me and told me they didn’t care or didn’t think it was real, which absolutely aggravated me, so I decided to start my own Instagram account in January of 2020 (@climateaware_).
As content for my account, I create graphic designs with quotes to motivate people to listen and take action, I write mini articles on specific topics to inform my followers or individuals who come across my page about what’s happening, and I make videos or host competitions every now and then to keep things interesting. Having my account taught me so much and has given me experience with content production for social media. Creating content for the FUF social media accounts is a huge part of what I’ll be doing as a Public Relations intern.
Other actions I’ve taken to become more eco-friendly are to swap some objects I use daily for sustainable alternatives. For example, I use a wooden toothbrush instead of a plastic one and use toothpaste tablets instead of the kind that comes in a tube in order to reduce waste. I have cut down on my meat intake and no longer eat fish because of the environmental consequences of these industries. I also try my best not to use single-use plastic, and encourage my family members and friends to do the same. A huge part of becoming more environmentally friendly is informing others about it; that’s the easiest way to spread the world and teach the people around you. Hopefully it will make a difference and inspire others to help the environment!
I am very grateful to have been offered the opportunity to work at FUF, an organization that plants more trees to make San Francisco more vibrant and eco-friendly. Trees are a huge part of the environment, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and clearing the air of pollution. FUF actively works to solve this, which is one of the reasons I wanted to have an internship here! My goals are to help inspire others my age to become more eco-friendly and to work with many different individuals in an attempt to save our planet. My generation will be left with an impossible challenge and I believe everyone — no matter their age, race, sexuality, etc. — should come together to solve it. In the future, I want to work on large events and projects that will contribute to helping our planet and will aim to tackle each and every climate-related problem, ranging all the way from the plastic at the bottom of the ocean to the issues with the fast fashion industry. This planet is our home and we need to save it; if it dies, we die… and I’d like to get past the age of 30.