Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope that you all had a great weekend and start to your week!
Today I am sharing another interview with you. Victoria Ritchie is a good friend of mine whom I met this past year at the University of Waterloo. We are in the same program within the Faculty of Environment and became friends during orientation week. All the way from B.C., Victoria is one of the most passionate people I know when it comes to fighting for what she believes in. This amazing girl inspired me to make so many of the changes in my life recently, from transitioning to a more zero-waste lifestyle to getting more engaged in my local community and fighting for what I believe in. She has participated in protests, volunteered around the world, actively works with others to fight for better oil spill regulations, and has her own Instagram page, Wasteless_Caremore (which I seriously recommend you follow!) to educate others on the Zero Waste movement and other environmental issues. She also supports social sustainability, such as women empowerment movements.
Victoria is overall a well-rounded, kind-hearted woman whom I am honoured to be friends with. I am so happy that she agreed to do this interview with me to spread her message and inspire others. I always enjoyed just talking to her because you can hear, see and feel her passion when she speaks. Despite the fact that she lives on the other side of the country, I know that we will stay friends for a long time 🙂
Similar to the interview with PickWaste, my questions will be in a different colour than Victoria’s answers. Because of the distance, the interview took place over email, with myself sending Victoria some questions and her responding back. Since I have heard the passion she has first-hand while at UW, I could practically hear it while reading her email reply. I really appreciate that she took the time out of her day to share her story, and I hope that you enjoy reading about it!
On to the interview!
Jenna: Could you describe yourself a bit? What are your hobbies and interests?
Victoria: I have always been one to chase new adventures, which has led me to love the outdoors and stay curious. I love hiking, climbing, gardening and really anything that will get me outside. I find that my instinctive drive to learn more about sustainability has always been connected to my desire to explore the beauty that mother nature has allowed us to steward.
Jenna: What inspired you to first start making a change in your life towards helping the environment?
Victoria: It was never a specific moment that changed my way of thinking, but rather the way I was raised to acknowledge and respect the biological world that surrounded me. I have tried to live my values through my action and as I have grown and learned more about my impact, this has inspired me to share my personal experience and passion with others.
Jenna: How did you hear about the ZW Movement, what made you decide to create your Instagram page, wasteless_caremore?
Victoria: I heard about the ZW movement first when I was in middle school. Some older ladies within my community came into my school to promote better recycling programs and reduce the waste being sent to the landfill. This program helped me to think more innovatively about my waste, and encouraged me to become more educated about where my garbage was really going… discovering that the majority of my waste was rotting in landfills, producing methane emissions or being shipped to developing nations and destroying marine habitats and biodiversity there.
Jenna: What are you most passionate about?
Victoria: Innovating sustainability on all levels of human activity and interaction with nature. I find that in order to promote environmentalism within modern day politics, we must discuss its transdisciplinary impacts. Environmentalism is no longer a partisan issue, it is an issue of economic stability, human health, and societal education. This is what makes the issue of environmentalism so much more than just a left wing platform for change.
Victoria: The Kinder Morgan Pipeline, and pipeline projects in general. We talk a lot about the phase out process from oil to alternatives, yet we still invest in the unsustainable industry that is petroleum. Canada has invested millions of dollars in new and existing pipeline projects that will not only put our grandchildren in debt, by also slow down our progress towards green energy options.
Jenna: Can you describe one of your favourite memories from your journey in the environmental sustainability movement?
Victoria: I find that at any point throughout my journey where I become more inspired or encouraged is an impactful moment. Some of the most impactful moments have been when I have had the privilege to hear other environmentalists speak from their own experiences. I have been lucky enough to listen to the wise words of David Suzuki and Jane Goodall within recent years, two of my heroes working to promote environmental sustainability.
Expanding on this, I would like to state that my moments of inspiration don’t just come from people of high success or stature, in fact I have been inspired by people in my everyday life just as much. Whether it’s a colleague or a fellow student or someone that sparked a conversation with me in a lineup for coffee… talking to people and sharing experiences has helped me to stay motivated to make change.
Jenna: What do you consider to be the most important aspect of achieving environmental sustainability?
Victoria: Staying open. If we wish to truly change the way society treats the environment, we need to connect with folks on all fronts. This means calling people into the conversation and not just calling people out. In order to remain a positive activist I need to better understand the barriers that many people have towards environmentalism; whether its economic, societal or just ignorance. In order to create connections and educate, we must learn to understand and accept that each individual has their own experiences. This being said, we need to innovate the conversation and how we treat environmental activism. It’s not enough to say that you care, we need to live our values and teach through actions of example.
Victoria: Your impact matters. We are so caught up in this logic of numbers, that we tend to see ourselves as having little impact. We often see ourselves as just 1 amongst 7.4 billion and this causes us to feel less motivated to change our lifestyles. When truthfully each one of us has the ability to create lasting change within ourselves, our communities and around the globe.
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I hope that you enjoyed the interview as much as I did. Thank you so much again Victoria for taking the time to answer my questions. Your message is being heard across UW and the internet, and I am happy to help you spread your message as much as I can.
You can follow Victoria on her Zero Waste Instagram page, wasteless_caremore. She has a lot of amazing tips and recommendations for reducing your waste, so I encourage you to check out her platform. It’s easy to live a more sustainable lifestyle, but sometimes we just need a little inspiration or push to get us there. Victoria is someone who will give you that push.
As always, thank you so much for reading. My goal with posts like these is not only to familiarize you with environmentalists who are making a change, but to also inspire you to take action in your own lives. By seeing how other people do it, from their very firsts steps in environmental initiatives to their big moments, it shows you how real they are, just like you, and proves to you that anyone can make a change if you believe in yourself.
If you know anyone that may be interested in doing an interview for the blog, please let me know in the comments! I’ll have more coming at you soon, but I always love to hear from you 🙂
Until next time!
