From Vancouver to Victory: Climate Change Stories

It was about 1.30 a.m. on the 21^st August 2023. My flight had just touched down at the Vancouver International Airport, Canada. Apparently, my hotel reservation had been changed twice without my knowledge, and each of those times an email had been sent confirming the changes. During my flight, about 20 hours, I had barely checked my emails. The hotel changes were made to accommodate my very early arrival being one of the first participants to arrive for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) 7^th Assembly in Canada. As I alighted, I noticed a lady with a Tanzanian wristband and for a minute, felt the East African spirit in the air and decided to say hi. Unfortunately, I did not make it to say hi because I realized I had dropped my ear pods on my flight seat and had to rush back to pick them up. And that is how I lost my East African ‘friend’. The previous information on my travel arrangements was that I had a reservation at a hotel within the airport, so I did not have to get on a cab to get to the hotel since it was close by.

Of course, I did not know where exactly the hotel was, so I decided to quickly connect to the airport Wi-Fi and catch up on missed conversations, the last couple of days. The most important was to check the status of my trip and accommodation arrangements, should there be any changes. The first email read:

“Dear Colleagues,

We wanted to let you know that there has been a change in your hotel room reservation.”

Checking on Google Maps, my hotel was a few minutes away, about a 30-minute’ drive. Change of plans! Remember initially I did not have to get on a cab to my hotel. Now I had to. I got in a cab to my hotel, on the way having a proper introduction to the Canadian environment by the driver. I guess he realized it was my first time visiting and he was super kind with a few important tips to keep in mind while moving around.

The next few days were full of activity as I joined ministers, government officials, business leaders, environmentalists, leaders of international agencies and environmental conventions along with representatives of youth groups, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples to discuss solutions to ensure a healthy planet with healthy people. This involved moving from one side event to another, meeting other young people who we’ve had virtual conversations with but never really met in person. I also visited several Vancouver attractions like the Vancouver China Town, The Waterfront Station, and the most famous Stanley Park. While I did not get to ride bikes which is quite a thing in Canada, with bike rentals every few blocks, there was just so much to see during the short period. I visited Canada during the summer with longer days (sunsets at around 9-10 p.m.) and short nights. This was an advantage, in one way, it ensured I had more time to visit places around, but a disadvantage on the flip side, the shorter nights really messed up my sleeping patterns. I wasn’t really going to complain about this because I loved my stay.

Toward the end of the conference, we had a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the GEF Assembly venue- Vancouver Convention Centre. Prior to this, we had a security brief sent to our emails and were asked to adhere to certain security protocols. During my visit, I made sure I had my camera and so this security protocol on my email, “If you wish to use a video or photo camera, other than a smartphone or compact camera, during the event, you must have your equipment checked beforehand by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers” spoke to me and my camera which I never left behind. What if I had my million-dollar picture moment? Haha. I knew this would be my opportunity to interact with other media personnel from different international media houses. Unlike security protocol back home, this did not take long. It took less than three minutes to have the more than ten of us checked and allowed into the auditorium where the Prime Minister was to address the Assembly. I had an opportunity to converse with the media guys from CNN, Reuters, BBC, and several other international media houses. I was possibly the only freelancer in the room not attached to any media house. Imagine the space and freedom that my camera had allowed me. Reminded me of this Bible verse that says “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.”. This was a place and moment in my wildest dreams.

We had a few minutes to spare before the arrival of the Prime Minister and this allowed us a moment of banter with the media crew. Listening to their stories and how they got into the media industry was quite diverse, with some having different transitions into the industry. One thing that was common across the room was the desire to shape narratives and tell stories as they are. At that point, I realized that as a storyteller, I deserved to be in that room. With some of the best at their craft. With my small camera and my words, I knew I could contribute towards the advancement of sustainable development through sound environmental governance and by championing the use of the linkage between climate change, food security, community sustainable livelihoods, and wildlife conservation.

Later that evening, we were treated to a sumptuous dinner, which marked the end of the Global Environmental Facility 7^th Assembly. As I walked back to my hotel, a few minutes to midnight, it kept bothering me why this platform was not online yet. There was no valid reason why the Shades of Green was not back online. As I walked from the Vancouver Convention Centre through the Vancouver City Centre Station, through Nelson Street thinking about this blog, I got to Helmcken Street and bumped into a Reds sports car.

From a distance, I didn’t really know what model it was. The previous few days I had seen so many Lamborghinis and Ferraris and Bugattis, more than I had ever seen in movies. I think this sight stamped my love of cars. My stay in Canada just made me realize how much I loved cars and especially the experience of supercars. Getting closer, I realized it was a Toyota Supra. Guess what I did next!  I got my phone out and took a picture. I loved the Red on the car, spared a few minutes to look at it, and took a few more pictures. It didn’t matter I had had a long day. I got so distracted that I did not realize that just two blocks away was another supercar.

I quickly paced up to of course take another picture of the Green supercar, which was the Porsche 911, which should be a 2021 model. For a moment, I stood there thinking. Was this my sign to go ahead with this storytelling platform? Apparently, when I am at crossed roads about something, even the smallest things make for signs. Or at least that happens to me occasionally. This was my sign of a perfect time to start. That is how I settled for the Shades of Green. I have been in storytelling spaces for a while now, but I haven’t just documented enough of those stories and experiences. Nature (Green) has been a common theme in my stories. And right in front of me was the Green Porche 911, a symbol of the stories that I have told and wanted to tell even more. Right there and then, I decided to name this platform Shades of Green.

There are many stories to be told. The stories about climate solutions and efforts by local communities, young people, and women at the front of climate change and conservation. Their stories help in understanding local context and dynamics and how this correlates with conservation and restoration outcomes. These stories could possibly help us understand the intricacies of conservation and restoration, what works, why it works, and how to make changes happen. I said Yes to the Shades of Green dream, and we are back online. Yes, to being in those spaces because we deserve them.  If you are my friend and have never known that this blog has been in existence since 2017, please we need to renew our friendship vows because how don’t you know that? Haha

Remember to subscribe to the blog and see you on the next one. Treat this as a welcome post as we look to get on this storytelling journey together. I look forward to the next blog post telling stories, talking about conservation and climate change and various around it, education pieces, and much more. Thank you for reading until the end. Let us interact in the comment section.

See you soon!