'Cymru, byd gwahanol'- Wales a whole different world. By Princess and Yetunde.

SPA Geog Ambassadors

'Cymru, byd gwahanol'- Wales a whole different world.

It all started from an email from Mr Davis, "A new competition about Action for Conservation" he said, he believed we could do it, but could we?

 

After stressful weeks of revision, Yetunde and I got together and answered a series of questions about our community, and an impactful hour of deliberations later; we had finally finished our bid to succession. 

Then some months later, on the other end of a late-night phone call:

..."We won the competition!" My best friend screamed. Long story short; we were ecstatic. Ecstatic to be part of a group of thirteen winners; out of so many entries across the entire nation.

So, on the first week of our summer holidays- it all began. On the way of a six-hour drive from Paddington to Stackpole, we had so much to see, ranging sadly from the horrific Grenfell tower in Kensington, to Wales's beautiful seas, various birds and miles of sustainable growth; you would definitely notice we were not in London.

Five days of an all-inclusive stay, we even confirmed to vegetarianism- a fantastic experience-we learnt about how unconscious choices like eating beef could affect our world so dearly.

Did you know that?

There wasn't a dull moment in the massive house we stayed in; we took turns to set the table, to cook and to clean; we played cards, and we connected on different matters- age made no difference.

Outside- we visited Pembrokeshire's beautiful landscapes, from cliffs to marine life, to beaches- and even jellyfish. We surveyed local areas- interviewed tourists and residents, listened to frequencies and watched colonies of bats. We reflected on moments in our lives in peaceful, quiet times, characterised by different settings: by the sea, by the river, on a bridge at night; near the forests. We understood the importance of peace all because of the AFC.

We volunteered in the local area, uprooting poisonous plants to mammals like cows- and even humans- called Ragworts from fields. We made visited many beaches and successfully started a 'cracking' fire by the sea.

The AFC gave us the confidence to step out of my comfort zone, to try new styles of foods, meet and work with different people of different age groups, freely take interviews and also marvel at the beauty of biodiversity so different to our 'normal' life in London.

We made pledges about what we wanted to achieve by the next time we meet:

We were inspired to make a change when we discussed and watched the documentary 'Before The Flood'- *highly recommended*

Now you can see our experience has been great; we would like to thank the whole AFC team and Mr Davis; we are grateful for being the new AFC Ambassadors. Could you be next?

On Saturday 7th October 2017, it will be our first official meetup as Ambassadors.

For more information you can visit:

@action4conserv or www.actionforconservation.org/

Written by Princess Emeanuwa & Yetunde Kehinde (Year 11 SPA Geog Ambassadors).

Where’s your next geography classroom?