“We sometimes feel Jacobs is a bubble and also jokingly call it like that. But we are not living in a closed system. You can always look at things at different levels: macro, micro, nano, etc. But none of these exists isolated. For our multicultural community especially, it should be evident without a microscope how many interconnections we have to places all over the world, which might already feel a much heavier impact of climate change than we do here in Bremen Nord. We all have plans for the future, I guess, or at least assume that we will have a future, otherwise, we would not need to invest money, time, and sweat in our education here. We do not want this to be in vain – so we should start caring about the environment we are part of.”
Mai-Brit Schulte (Germany) | BSC Earth and Environmental Sciences | Class of 2021
The environmental club is one of the many clubs present on campus. They have done many projects on campus as their main goal is to inform other students about the different ways to help the planet. The club has three head members: Mai-Brit Schulte from Germany, Kelly Bebendorf from Australia, and Germany, and Safell Siguenas Lino from Peru, who works on their marketing, design, and social media. Together these “eco-warriors” make initiatives in the Jacobs community tackling different environmental issues.
The Coffee bar is one of the best places where Jacobs students socialize, do work, or just grab a snack between lectures, however, single-use plastic or paper cups are wasteful and could be easily avoided with a reusable cup. That is the reason why the environmental club proposed having reusable cups in the Coffee bar, so the planet does not have to suffer from our coffee breaks. It came into effect last year, as every student receives their drink in a reusable plastic cup in exchange for a small deposit. Moreover, when the drink is finished, the cup could be returned to the Coffee bar to get the deposit back! This is just one of the initiatives the environmental club has pursued and succeeded in. Each of them, helps people to be more informed and mindful about the waste they create.
All head members of the club are vegan; however, they all believe that big changes start with small steps taken by each of us, therefore they highly support anyone who is on the journey to a more earth-loving life. The club has made a vegan challenge and welcomes anyone who would like to participate. In their meetings, they share zero-waste ideas and DIYs with a passion for changing the world each day at a time.
“I'm vegan, which is (according to Oxford University) the single most impactful decision towards an eco-friendlier life. Apart from that the usual things: I try to avoid participating in fast fashion and wasteful consumerism as much as I can (I get most of my clothes passed down from family members or second hand); I try to cycle and take public transport as much as possible; I sign petitions etc. for environmental causes; daily activism talking to other people and informing them about current issues etc.”
Kelly Bebendorf (Australia/Germany) | BA International Relations: Politics and History | Class of 2021
This year, the environmental club has shown interest in giving information to the Jacobs community about ways to preserve energy, use less plastic, and return deposit bottles. They have added bins for deposit bottles in every survery, they collect the bottles and with the money received from returning them, they plan and fund more initiatives. Some of the members of the club were very kind to talk about their initiative, joining the club, and their passion for a more sustainable life:
“I decided to join the club because of the cigarette buds around the campus. We were talking with Mai-Brit about the fact that these buds do not degrade and the toxic substances on the filters tend to diffuse into the soil and the undersoil water. Our campus has a lot of smokers, which I do not mind. However, there is a significant percentage of these smokers who just throw their buds on the ground. Hopefully, this year we will come up with a campaign that will serve as a reminder of the effects of such a careless action. We all must inform ourselves about the consequences of our smallest actions. The truth is, there is no future for a non-sustainable living. Even with the majority changing its approach, the future does not look bright. That is why I think, Environmental club is an important platform to make students aware of how they can contribute.”
Roza Mızrak (Turkey) | BSC Biochemistry and Cell Biology | Class of 2021
Do you believe everyone should care about the environment?
“The Environment, or our Planet itself, is something that we take for granted, and we think that it is out of our hands to take care of; however, as beings that co-exist in this planet, with no other one to go to, I believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to protect and care about the environment. The Earth and its environment is not only the place we live in but also the one that we get all of our resources from. Without Earth’s metals there would be no high-technology products, without Earth’s incredible food provision we would all starve, without the rest of Earth’s animal species our ecosystem would be in danger. It is clear that whether we like it or not, protecting the Environment is every person’s responsibility. I believe everyone must live a more conscious life as much as their financial stability and other personal aspects allow them to. As students, we should try our best to educate ourselves and improve our environmental awareness to inculcate such values into future generations. Caring about the environment should be the norm, not the exception.”
Safell Sigüeñas Lino (peru) | BSC Industrial Engineering and Management | Class of 2021
What has changed about you since you joined the club?
“I have considered myself an environmentalist for a couple of years now, so I was decided to join the Environmental Club when I came to Jacobs. During my freshman year, we were a small number of members but that did not stop us from our goal: make our campus a greener place. We were active actors in a lot of eco-friendly changes made on campus such as: introducing and advertising Cup2Date, introducing more vegan options other than soy milk in the servery and the coffee bar, ditching the plastic and paper cups of the coffee bar for compostable ones, among other initiatives. Working with like-minded individuals to make Jacobs University a more sustainable place, completely erased the thought of being alone in this eco-friendly journey. It inspires me to live a more sustainable life myself to be a great example to others, and I am convinced that the small actions I do every day still mean something and can greatly impact others to do the same. I am also more focused now on keeping the small changes I have made in the past 4 years since I became more environmentally-conscious (and adopting other small actions) than frustrating myself because I am not able to eliminate plastic from my life, especially as a student.”
Safell Sigüeñas Lino (peru) | BSC Industrial Engineering and Management | Class of 2021
If someone wants to help the cause/environment, what would you advise them to start with?
“I believe it is important to not compare yourself to others, but rather focus on your progress. Be proud of the small changes you have made because that also takes a lot of willpower and effort. It is a very common misconception about environmentalism that either you are 100% green or not at all. People find overwhelming the thought of fitting their trash in a jar or not eating meat at all, and therefore they just rather not do anything at all than fail at something. Finding certain obstacles to living a greener life, should not stop us from other green initiatives. There are so many small or big changes one can do: from reducing their meat consumption every Monday, separating their trash or reducing their plastic consumption, all the way to composting their trash, eliminating palm-oil products from their pantries, or going vegetarian/vegan. I would encourage everyone to not let the fact that one cannot do everything be an excuse to do nothing.”
Safell Sigüeñas Lino (peru) | BSC Industrial Engineering and Management | Class of 2021
“Make smart choices: Eco friendly does not have to be expensive! It can even be lots cheaper than a "normal" western lifestyle. Watch lots of documentaries and talk to people who have experience being… e.g. vegan.”
Kelly Bebendorf (Australia/Germany) | BA International Relations: Politics and History | Class of 2021
BY KREMENA TERZIEVA (BULGARIA) | CLASS OF 2021
