challenge #5: biodiversity

Dear participants,

It’s the final stage of the My Carbon Challenge adventure, with a final week focusing on biodiversity and Next Steps! Two themes we’re particularly passionate about.

Biodiversity, essential to our well-being and the health of the planet, is often threatened by the fragmentation of urban spaces. However, citizen participation initiatives make it possible to mobilise the population to preserve biodiversity, thereby contributing to more sustainable and pleasant cities 🌿

Did you know that ecosystems provide vital services such as oxygen production, air purification, climate regulation and drinking water supply? What’s more, they support agriculture by facilitating pollination and preserving soil fertility, while providing spaces for relaxation and cultural sites 😎

Protecting biodiversity is therefore fundamental to ensuring a healthy environment, both for current and for future generations.

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Challenge #1: I'm discovering my local biodiversity 🌳

Benefits: Health 🧘‍♀️ | Learning 📚 | Adventure 🌟

In an increasingly urbanised world, it’s easy to forget that nature abounds with treasures, even close to home. This final week of the Carbon Challenge is a great opportunity to start 2025 in a spirit of discovery by being more in tune with local biodiversity.

Discover with dansmanature.ch

Why not take advantage of winter to explore the natural world around you? ❄️ Contrary to popular belief, this season is full of surprises: forest walks, birdwatching and much more to discover on the dansmanature.ch platform.

👉 What is dansmanature.ch?

This site is a goldmine for Geneva’s nature lovers. It lists activities organised by local players and offers an interactive map to find excursions near you. Thanks to this map, one of us found a treasure trove of mushrooms in the forest! 🍄

🤔 How can I take part?

  1. Explore the activities on dansmanature.ch.
  2. Sign up for a walk, an educational workshop or even a tree planting.
  3. Follow an enthusiastic guide and discover the wealth of local biodiversity.

💡 Bonus tip

Immortalise your adventure with photos or videos and share them on social networks. Who knows? You might inspire your loved ones to reconnect with nature. 🌞

🌺🐜 Want to find out more about biodiversity?

You can find out more through documentaries, books and conferences. The more you connect with nature, the more joy and energy you’ll have to protect it.

Challenge #2: Green up your city! 🌱

Benefits: Well-being 🌿 | Quality of life 🌟 | Peace of mind 🍃

“No area is too small to accommodate nature.” – Pro Natura 

Even by developing a small area, we can offer different species an opportunity for connectivity. In fact, one of the main problems of cities, in addition to pollution, is the fragmentation of habitats, which limits the ability of certain species to move from one place to another, thereby jeopardising their survival.

For example, a small green corner on your balcony or a garden filled with indigenous plants could serve as a bridge linking different spaces. Imagine if everyone in Geneva did this! Not only would it be much more pleasing to the eye, but it would also be good for much of our biodiversity. 

And you don’t have to be an experienced gardener to contribute to urban biodiversity!
Here are three simple and effective ways to green your environment:

1️⃣ Individual and collective action 🏡

By integrating more native plants into your household and your building, you become an agent of positive change for those around you, both human and non-human. Even a balcony can become a haven for biodiversity!

👉 Useful resources :

2️⃣ Public action 🏢

Make your commune an ally for biodiversity! 🤝 

Find a corner of the city that needs a little more greenery and ask your commune to create green spaces there. Did you know that the heat island effect makes the city even hotter in summer, making it less liveable for everyone, especially senior citizens? Ask for more green spaces in your town and help not only your elderly neighbours, but also the birds and insects. In the end, everyone wins! 🧓🐞🐦

  • Discover the various participatory gardens in Geneva on the interactive map created by Genève Cultive. There’s something for everyone, young and old alike! 
  • Did you know that you can create your own urban garden for your community?  Here are the city’s instructions.
  • The Artichaut association also offers free gardening workshops every Saturday between mid-February and the end of October. Keep this link safe and sign up when the time comes! 

3️⃣ Corporate action 💼

Would you like your company to be more involved in CSR objectives? Talk to your company about greening its roof, terrace, balcony or courtyard, by putting them in touch with TSF – Urban Nature and get inspired by their actions!

💰 A good idea: Did you know that your company, local authority or even association can receive up to 50% subsidy from the State for its greening project? Don’t hesitate to check out the information here! It’s a powerful argument for getting your company involved!  

🌟 Combine awareness-raising and teambuilding? It’s possible thanks to AVSA‘s Eco-guide tour! Book a nature outing with colleagues with the aim of informing, raising awareness and influencing the environment. These outings are created to serve works councils, associations, or private groups!

How can I sustain my efforts over time?

  • Celebrate success 🥳
  • Anticipate obstacles 🔭
  • Remains flexible and give yourself patience 😌
  • Find joy in these new habits ☺️
  • Find social support 👥 

Now that you’ve started down this road, the hardest part is behind you. CONGRATULATIONS! You can take the time to celebrate the efforts you’ve made.

You can then start thinking about how you will respond to what might stop this new habit from lasting. A good way of making efforts last is to remain flexible and give yourself patience, to be indulgent with yourself in order to be more resilient 💞. For example, if you’ve tried a vegetarian week, you can treat yourself to dinner in a vegetarian restaurant as a reward. Then if you’re worried about the judgement around you during family meals, you can make the exception this time but suggest more vegetarian options for next time.

The secret to maintaining a habit is to make it enjoyable and to be supported in your approach. So find people (a friend or an influencer) following the sustainable practices you aspire to adopt, you can then motivate and help each other 💑. You can also talk about your commitment around you to create social pressure upon yourself, reinforcing your desire to continue.

How can I extend my commitment?

Once you’ve tried to reduce your personal carbon footprint by attempting the high-impact challenges that suit you, it can be hard to know how to take things further. What’s more, this quest can lead to a discouraging feeling of loneliness, we’ve also found there ourselves 😥. But it’s through action that we find hope.

It’s important to recognise that in a city like Geneva, it’s virtually impossible to reduce your carbon footprint to 2 tonnes because of the structures that influence it. One study shows that, with considerable effort, we can only reduce our footprint by half.

This is why the scientific consensus underlines the need for systemic change to achieve our climate objectives: individual actions are not enough. The effort therefore lies with the private sector and public authorities, where we can exert our influence.

Exercise your power to influence

We are currently experiencing a period of unprecedented ecological awareness and action, thanks to the efforts of experts, associations and a multitude of stakeholders committed to putting ecology at the heart of our concerns. Despite this, many people still lack the information and skills to adopt sustainable practices, and you can help them.

Here you can discover the spheres of influence in which you act on a daily basis, often without realising it. Through your words and actions in favour of sustainability, you help to inspire and transform those around you, reaching out to the whole world.


[Source de l’image à droite : “A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet”]

To alleviate eco-anxiety, there’s nothing better than community action, where you can meet people who share your aspirations while developing a powerful sense of collective mobilisation. We’ve put together some resources to help you explore the different ways of getting involved (see resources 😉). In addition, you can easily find a number of associations working for the causes you care about in our previous newsletters.

It only takes one person to have an idea, 15 to create a movement and 100 to change society.

In conclusion, we would like to remind you that every action counts, and that the most important thing about the Carbon Challenge is to progress at your own pace and according to your own priorities. Together, we are taking several steps towards a healthier, more resilient and more sustainable quality of life in Geneva.

By taking an active part and sharing your experiences, you’re also inspiring those around you to adopt greener habits for the future of us all, and that’s cool 😎 !

Resources

Do you need to be organised to keep a commitment?
→ Try the SMART technique (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) 

😰 I have a lot of eco-anxiety
→ I develop my emotional intelligence by learning about eco-emotions


😅 Why me, when I have little influence?


🤔 What type of commitment suits me best?

  • FR – Les Racines de la Résilience is a website that brings together all the different approaches to ecological action, as well as French resources for finding out more about them.
    •  

📣 Where can I get involved?

  • The City of Geneva suggests a number of ways to get involved
  • The answer to this question lies within you! If you’re looking for an ecological or social cause to fight for, you have to find the motivation deep inside you. 


🗣️ How can I convince my friends and family?

  • Here are 5 methods that have worked for us:
    • 😇 Inspire – Lead by example to avoid “do as I say not as I do”.
    • 👂 Listen – Invite questioning and really listen to their concerns, rather than taking a moralising stance.
    • 🫂 Support – Propose solutions adapted to their daily lives, invite them to join you for sustainability events.
    • ☺️ Imagine – Share accessible and motivating alternatives (a documentary that touched you, good ecological news that motivated you, a mobility policy that you have introduced in your company, etc.).
    • 😁 Pleasure – Argue for sustainability through related benefits (health, well-being).
  • EN – Read a blog with more advice here
  • You shouldn’t try to convince anyone either, otherwise you can end up wasting a lot of energy for very little (short article on brandolini’s law).

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