Patrice Burnside's Letter

Friends,

We live in a world where hope competes with many things for our attention. But if we embody hope — through actions, words, mindset — many things become possible.

With hope, comes commitment. Can we open ourselves to a greener approach to the tasks of daily life? I think so. Even if it means we are the first voice in our circle, our voice matters. It may even speak to the voice in the back of somebody else's head.

Committed to a greener tomorrow, we can make incredibly important small changes today.

Each of us can flex in some achievable yet significant way.

Let’s aim for a small but mighty 1 percent: a mindset for incremental change means we are perpetually evolving and improving.

Small actions matter.

One percent change compounds.

If you need to travel to collect something, can you coincide your journey to align with another travel need, such as football practice in another town?

You can always ask, you can always try.

And do you have an option to take the bus, even if it means you’re starting a bit earlier and coming back a bit later? Try this out, if you can. It costs a lot of money to run a car and keep it roadworthy, and then there’s the environmental costs to be mindful of, as well.

I have kept my foot off the driver’s pedal for long periods of time, for the reasons highlighted above, so I understand that it is not always easy, and sometimes it is terribly inconvenient.

But imagine if every now and again, all drivers took a break from vehicle dependency. The benefit to our planet would be enormous.

We as individuals have a voluntary role to play in improving our natural environment.

Our leaders must also use their position and privilege to creatively reward and incentivise people to change their lifestyles. So long as there are empty seats on trains and buses, not enough is being done to maximise the existing opportunity to reduce carbon emissions.

In partnership with public and private sectors, let us implement the right economic framework and infrastructure to help more people make 1 percent change, every day.

With kindest regards,

Patrice Burnside and planet Earth 🌎