Eleanor:

There is a lot of climate doom in our society, including about biodiversity. It is like news; we hear about all of the bad things that happen and about how much has gone wrong. This is vital and we need accountability when bad things happen but we often fail to address all the good that happens. We need to know about the improvements that have been made. Take forestry, for example. At the beginning of the 20th century we had 1% forest cover and now we are up to 11%. This is a big improvement. I know it is a small victory but we need to focus on these also because it gives us hope for the future. If we take small steps and try to take personal responsibility and do the right things ourselves, even if Ireland is a small country we will make a difference.

Everyone feels down about things when they are going wrong and we feel overwhelmed about what needs to be fixed but this is how we get there. The only way to change something is to know that it can be changed and have hope for it. Young people are particularly good at this because we have a long future and if we do not have hope we will not have anything at all. It is very important.