The fact that Louka Delautre is committed to environmental protection is thanks to the city of Mannheim, with all its gray and industrial characteristics. The 19-year-old moved here two years ago to study business administration, and the contrast to his home village in northeastern France was enormous. “When I walk out the front door today and look to the right, I see smoking chimneys. When I walk out the door in my parents’ house and look to the right, I see the forest, ”says Louka. “And when I sit in my Mannheim room and am quiet, I still hear the cars and trams. But unlike before, I no longer hear birds. “
This daily reminder that the world could also look different in the city awakened zest for action in Louka. He went online to search for associations or groups in which he could get involved and came across the “Earth Guardians”. The organization was founded in the USA in the 1990s and aims to encourage young people to take the initiative themselves in order to creatively strengthen climate and environmental protection as well as social justice. The organization is less widespread in Germany and Europe, but that wasn’t an obstacle for Louka.
Gardens in the middle of the city
“I liked the idea of starting something myself. I contacted Earth Guardians and then a fellow student and I started a group together at the university. We are now 15 people, ”he says. The group focuses on local actions to improve the cityscape. “We want to install raised beds near the train station to make the city greener,” says Louka. “People should see that a small garden is also possible in the middle of the city,” he says. The group is in discussion with the city of Mannheim, urban planning must agree, security must be guaranteed. It sounds like a lot of bureaucracy, but Louka is confident. “The first stage of the talks went well,” he says. In addition to such actions, Earth Guardians sets international priorities that the individual groups implement on site with their own ideas. The current topic is water. “That’s why we did some clean-ups, that is, collecting garbage on the banks of the Rhine and Neckar,” says Louka. “We are also currently developing a workshop on the subject of water consumption, which we would like to take to schools.”
International group, local projects
Louka is now “Regional Director” for Earth Guardians in Germany and helps interested people in other cities to build groups. He likes working in the international organization.
There is also a great diversity within the Mannheim group, with members from France, Germany, Spain, Italy and China. “It is interesting to see how differently everyone works. We learn from each other, ”he says. In technical terms, however, the backgrounds are similar, everyone in the group is studying business or economics. Isn’t that a little unusual? Louka has only a mild smile to answer the question. “Not everyone corresponds to the cliché,” he recalls. But he cannot dismiss the fact entirely. “We have one in our group who would never have been active in environmental protection without us. It’s nice to see that people can change, ”says Louka. And he has an argument why her commitment is particularly important: “Many of these courses will later work in companies, perhaps also in management positions. Climate change is related to the economy and we have to change the system. If the people who work in these areas understand that, that’s a good step. “
In the future we will present young people in every issue of nature and on our website who are actively committed to nature, the environment and the climate. Please send suggestions to Redaktion-natur@konradin.de