What island life taught Brianna Fruean about saving the Earth
(Courtesy of 350)
The 22-year-old Samoa native and environmental advocate fights to protect her country and its many natural wonders.
Brianna Fruean was raised on an island smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but she felt far from isolated.
“Island life provided me with a beautiful childhood, a close-knit community, great friends, a loving family,” shares the 22-year-old Samoa native and environmental advocate. “[It] taught me, nourished me and made me feel a part of something bigger.”
From a young age, Brianna knew she wanted to give back to her home country. She felt responsible for protecting Samoa and the many natural wonders — mountains, waterfalls, mangroves, beaches — that make it so beautiful.
Climate change impacts every community, but the threat is especially dire for island nations facing escalating tides, cyclones, flooding and other natural disasters. Small countries like Samoa have contributed the least to global warming, but because of their proximity to large bodies of water, they find themselves on the front lines of the global climate emergency. So when Brianna first learned how climate change endangered everything she loved, she knew she couldn’t sit by.
At age 11, she founded the Samoan chapter of 350, an international climate movement working to end the use of fossil fuels and build a world run on renewable energy. With a group of other students, she started implementing composting and recycling programmes at her school before launching into larger community programmes like beach clean-ups and tree-planting days.
(Courtesy of The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue)
Before long, Brianna took her activism overseas. In 2012, she spoke at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil as a Pacific Youth Ambassador, calling the experience “an eye-opener.” On one hand, she got to participate in one of the world’s most influential summits towards building a sustainable future. On the other, she learnt how many powerful people see natural resources as “nothing more than things to exploit for profit.”
Brianna believes that young people are the future of the environmental movement, if only they have confidence in their power to create change. Today, she visits schools to educate young people about climate change and encourage them to get involved in climate action. She finds that many of the children she encounters care about the environment, but just don’t think they can make a difference. “I tell them of young people just like them who have made an impact to inspire them that they can do it too,” she shares.
“My people moulded me and made me who I am today.”
Though she’s travelled the world to campaign on behalf of the planet, Brianna still finds herself focused on local causes. She volunteers for Brown Girl Woke, a community youth group on her island that’s “all about youth empowerment and community service,” and is currently working on an initiative aimed at getting young Pacific people enrolled, prepared and ready to vote.
“I’m passionate about climate justice, but also all the intersecting issues that impact my community and serve an injustice,” she explains. “My people moulded me and made me who I am today.”
One of the greatest lessons Brianna learned from her people is about the importance of balance, especially between culture and nature. The two “must work in equal service with each other,” with people giving back to the Earth just as much as they take from it.
This article is based on an interview with Brianna conducted by Malala Fund communications fellow Omolara Uthman.
Read more
