My name is Aleyna Salih and I have been working with the council to try and make a positive difference to the environment. I think that living green is the way to go.

I started researching more into climate change months ago and I was really shocked and upset at the facts and statistics. So, I decided to take action, including:-

• Reducing my use of electricity;
• Reducing any food and water wastage (by taking showers);
• Introducing metal straws into my life (I love using them!).

Earth is dying, and one thing that particularly upsets me is the number of trees being cut down every day. In 2015, nearly 6000 sq/km of forests, the size of Cyprus, were cut down in the Amazon. I feel like this is such an inhumane action and really an insult to nature as this is destroying the very thing that keeps us alive.

Trees are helping us because they clean up our horrible man-made pollution. By mercilessly cutting down trees, we are not only destroying our homes, but we are also ruining innocent and vulnerable animals’ homes too. Some animals were here before us, like elephants, and they have been around for 55 million years and sharks, who have been around for 400 million years – if they were able to exist peacefully, then why can’t we?

Human brains are one of the most advanced and so I fail to see why people cannot see what they are doing. Did you know there is more micro plastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way? 

The reason why I am so passionate is because I see Earth through a different pair of eyes. I see a planet that has been the foundation of life for millions of years, a planet that has two protective shields working to protect us, a planet that is not too far away from the sun, but not too close either – it is just right – and a planet that is being destroyed by us, a planet that has been around for 4.5 billions year and has survived ice ages and meteorites.

What shocks me the most is for people to not see this, to not be grateful, because without Earth, we would not even be here and the human race would never have evolved. 

So, what can you do to help?

You can cut down on electricity usage, plant plenty of trees, recycle, maybe introduce solar panels and not waste food or water.

Aleyna Salih, F9