Horseback riding through the Californian mountainside led to a sight that is all too common: trees completely burnt, lying lifeless, while people just pass by with no attention towards them. For a young Sophie Cowlen (10), this reminded her of another time in Colorado when she was staring through her window at another empty mountainside. No life, no homes. “It’s really sad knowing that all those places could still have been flourishing today, if it wasn’t for the impact of climate change,” Sophie said. This inspired her to protect our environment in and outside of school
Social media account:
A couple months ago, Sophie started an Instagram account on sustainability to educate people on a wider scale. The account being fairly new has not reached many people as of now, but she strives to have a global impact on what she’s most passionate about.
“I basically post photos and videos about how to be more sustainable,” Sophie said. “So about [things] like sustainable fashion and limiting your CO2 emissions. And I really want to educate, especially young people, on the climate crisis.”
Although Sophie likes to project the big picture on sustainability, she prefers to focus her content on sustainable fashion. So she believes that spreading awareness on this major issue is important.
“I’m constantly bombarded on social media with over consumption and things that are so unsustainable, especially targeted towards teens, which is why I’m so passionate about that online,” Sophie said.
Click to explore Sophie’s Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/sophie_and_sustainability/profilecard/
Sustainable investigations class:
To further her connection to the environment, Sophie found the sustainable investigations course taught by Kelley Krejnik to be the perfect class for her. And an amazing opportunity for students to get involved with something that has a large impact on their lives.
“Even if [someone] doesn’t go into sustainability as a career, it’s still going to affect their lives with climate change,” Sophie said. “So it’s something that we all need to learn, and so I love that it is part of the curriculum.”
With a class that reflects her passion, the interest she shows and contributions she makes there are easily noticed by social studies teacher Kelley Krejnik.
“[When] Sophie signed up, she was very eager to take sustainable investigations as a sophomore, because she has a lot of passion to tackle the challenges with our environment and climate change,” Krejnik said. “And she has shown enthusiasm for all of the different topics that we’re learning in the class.”
Out of the various topics that Sophie has learnt in this class, the scientific reasons behind many occurrences in the environment like the ozone layer, coral bleaching, and hurricanes had caught her attention.
“We’ve learned about the growing strength of hurricanes due to warming waters and numerous other things,” Sophie said. “So I feel like I have a much more scientific understanding of a lot of modern climate issues.”
Not only does Sophie focus on topics in class, she also does projects to support and make the campus a better place for everyone.
“[Sophie] is collaborating on a project to help improve the sustainability of our campus,” Krejnik said. “She’s focused her attention on our habits, behaviors and materials in the lunchroom.”
Interacting with people who share her thinking about sustainability motivated and added inspiration to Sophie’s interest in the environment which was observed by Laura Cowlen, Sophie’s mom.
“I think one of the things that she loves the most is being with like-minded people,” Laura said. “And because when you think about climate change, the problem is so enormous that I think when you work with like-minded people it gives you a sense of hope and enthusiasm for coming up with solutions.”
Along with all the other aspects of the sustainable investigations course, Sophie feels a deep connection to the course which encourages her to be educated and contribute to the learning of others in the class as well.
“When I go in there, I feel like there’s so much I want to say and so much more to do,” Sophie said. “Every conversation that we have in there I feel so passionate about because I feel like I can really contribute to what we’re learning about.”
Sage club:
Adding to her involvement in school, Sophie joined the Student Action for Greater Earth Club her freshman year. Jumping right into this club, she contributed to the native pollinator garden project.
“Last year in SAGE, we made the native pollinator garden, which was an incredible experience, and I couldn’t have done it without Ms. Krejnik and the group of students that we had last year,” Sophie said. “Making the native pollinator garden really showed me the potential that we have at the school. And it gave me the motivation to want to do more projects on campus.”
Sophie found this to be the ideal place for her to showcase her passion and freely get involved with real-life sustainability.
“I feel like all my ideas can come to life, and my ideas that I’m most passionate about are [things] like solar panels, sustainable lunch wear and education for the student body,” Sophie said.
In this club, Sophie also got to compete along with other members of the SAGE club in an awards ceremony called the Green Schools Quest. Many schools that introduced sustainable changes on their campus got to participate.
“It really inspired me, because I saw not [only] how much our school was doing, but the amount of passionate people, especially young people, that are working towards climate solutions,” Sophie said. “And [that] inspired me to continue my work.”
Gardening:
Sophie’s inspiration for gardening began with her grandmother’s long experience and interest in that field.
“My grandma was really into gardening,” Sophie said. “So ever since I was young, I was exposed to growing my own food. And so it’s something that I picked up at a young age.”
The garden Sophie’s grandmother grew was extremely pretty, so she works hard to make her garden as beautiful as her grandma’s. She believes that it might be possible one day with her grandma’s steadfast support and contribution.
“A lot of times she gives us plants from her garden,” Sophie said. “She splits them and then gives us plants from her house. And we start getting a lot of seedlings that she grows in her garden.”
Since she started receiving help from her grandma, Sohpie was inspired to start growing her own plants.
“I love growing vegetables, because I love growing my own food,” Sophie said. “So our biggest ones this year were jalapenos, other peppers.”
Family:
Not only did Sophie educate others through her social media account, but she has also informed her mom about sustainability.
“[Sophie’s] been like my teacher in terms of learning about the importance of making ethical and sustainable choices… she’s not too hard on me, but she’s definitely challenges me,” Laura said.
Sophie has visited many national parks with her family during time off however they usually seem to find themselves back in Colorado.
“[Sophie] absolutely lights up when she is in nature, and especially when she is out west,” Laura said. “She loves the mountains.”
And in those mountains of Colorado and California, Sophie can find a deep connection to nature where dead and burnt trees are found very commonly.
“I see the biggest impact of climate change in California because of the wildfires and the evidence,” Sophie said. “I haven’t been directly impacted by wildfires, but I see the evidence of wildfires there, so that’s a big thing. I also just feel more inspired when they come out in nature to protect it.”
Impact on Habits:
Among several alterations that have been made in Sophie’s life as a result of her dedication to sustainability, Sophie made the decision to become a vegetarian. For her, it’s all about origin.
“It deepens my connection to where my food comes from, because we’ve kind of, as a society and as a whole, lost our connection to where our food comes from, which just deepens our loss of connection to nature,” Sophie said.
One of Sophie’s reasons for becoming vegetarian was animal cruelty. But in addition to that, being very connected to the environment led her to think about the meat industry’s impact on the climate.
“Deforestation, methane emissions from cows and other animals, as well as transportation [part of the] process of the mass meat industry creates huge CO2 emissions, and really is one of the main causes of climate change,” Sophie said. “Actually, the meat industry is responsible for around 15% of greenhouse gas emissions, which is like the main reason why I don’t eat meat.”
Sophie’s shopping habits were also influenced by sustainability. Now, before buying clothes or shoes, she likes to research sustainable companies to buy from.
“I joke that she’s an expensive child because clothing, tennis shoes tend to be more expensive when they’re from ethical companies,” Laura said. “But I would rather do that because it’s the right thing to do.”
Acknowledging personal values is difficult for many. However, Sophie has identified her values: the environment, nature, sustainability, animals and kindness.
“I really admire her because she’s so young, but she’s so clear about her values,” Laura said. “I think a lot of adults struggle with knowing what their values are. And it’s really cool that at age 16, she knows what her values are.”
Overall, Sophie’s admiration for nature has amplified her empathy for others.
“I feel like, as a mother, raising children that are kind is the most important thing I can do,” Laura said. “And if I raise a child who is kind, I feel like I’ve been a successful parent. And like everything, nothing else really matters.”