GARANCE
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The outdoors have always been a big part of my life. Running through fields in the French countryside, surrounded by my cousins and siblings, as well as trees, flowers, and bugs, is what my childhood summer looked like. Since arriving in Bangkok, the long hours spent in the garden have become scarce, I would much rather lie down in the aircon than sulk in the humidity and being a busy city there isn’t much wildlife to go around. Every moment spent outside the city has become extremely special: whether it was the NIST camps or the holidays with my family to jungles, beaches, or temples, breathing in the fresh air and swimming in the sea are moments I treasure.
One of my favourite parts of nature has always been the sea. I have always loved the sea and snorkelling was always a fun experience for me so in Songkran of 2019, my sister, my dad, and I decided to get our PADI diving licence to take advantage of the nature in Thailand (while staying out of the heat). Being something I had already done in Martinique and loved, I wanted to do it again. Getting my PADI was not an easy task for an 11-year-old, all of the things we had to do if any emergency should occur, all of the hand signals to communicate, and the pressure of being tested on my skills at all times was more than enough to get me extremely anxious before entering the sea to dive the first time. However, I definitely was not about to let my dad and sister see a whale shark without me by their sides and the second we started to descend into the clear blue water, I immediately forgot all of my worries. I felt completely at peace in the water and stared in wonderment at all of the vibrant colours and the sea life swimming around us. Since then I have been on many dives and experienced many incredible things. Diving gave me the chance to explore more of the ocean than ever before and view the wildlife enjoying themselves in such a beautiful environment.
Sadly, this inside view into the sea has exposed me to the damage we, as humans, have done to our marine ecosystem. This phenomenal environment is tarnished by plastic. Before seeing the damage up close in the form of dying reefs and littered beaches, I never really paid much attention to the decrease in the number of green spaces around our world. I knew they were decreasing and I had heard of climate change, but it never really hit close to home. I have always tried to keep my plastic use to a minimum but I was never really aware of its impact until I started noticing more and more plastic in nature, through my experiences. My mom and I would avoid some beaches because of the amount of plastic there and my dive instructors started warning us about the decrease in wildlife they had seen over the past decade. During every dive I do, even in government-protected areas, there is always a piece of plastic floating around or lying on the sand and as I have been trying to get more informed on the issue, I am realising how urgent this matter is.
From my research, I discovered that the most effective way that I could help, as an individual, was by reducing my usage of single-use plastic and spreading this knowledge with others, starting with my family. Now, my family and I use reusable bags and try to reuse and wash any single-use plastic we may have. We also recycle as much as we can even though it is hard to do in Bangkok. Furthermore, when I have the time, I take part in beach clean-ups so that the plastic doesn’t harm the marine environment as it could if animals were to consume it. For example, turtles commonly swallow plastic bags because of their resemblance to jellyfish and even small fish swallow plastic nowadays because of how tiny pieces are floating around our ocean and ending up in the food chain. It is a small effort, but the only way to protect the remaining green areas what we need to do is to collectively lower the amount of single-use plastic we use in our daily lives. It will take time for everyone to do this since a lot of jobs require single-use plastic, but, already, a lot of countries are trying to decrease their use of plastic to protect our natural habitats.
Diving has given me direct insight into the impact of plastic on the ocean. Being in the wilderness, in general, has taught me a lot and has changed the way I view our planet. Nature has always been important to me but my mindset towards it has changed through the activities I have done. Even though Thailand is still humid and hot, I try to stay outside more regularly and when I am immersed in nature I take all the more advantage of it. Even when in the city, I notice birds and squirrels more than I did before. The wilderness has been a big part of my life and it has made me into the person I am today, one who values our environment and is actively taking to protect it.