Luka Blankevoort

Ever since I can remember, my antennae have pointed to the trees, plants and animals. While I worried about animal and plant welfare at a young age (yes, really), the focus shifted towards people when my world expanded during my adolescence. When I started working with refugees at the Red Cross in Haarlem from the age of 12, I came to know first-hand the great injustice that some people have to endure. Out of the sheer desire to make the world more just, I started studying international development studies in Wageningen in 2016. The idea grew in me to reduce climate change and nature degradation on the political stage. And to do this I first wanted to understand how the climate works. As a master's degree, I started doing climate science, in addition to the master's degree in international development.

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But I was confronted with how environmental policy, despite good intentions, always turns out to be a license to consume, pollute and emit up to a certain limit. And also: there is so much going on here in the Netherlands, why do I keep looking so far away? And something strange happened: during my studies I mainly learned about 'man-made' solutions, financial and technological developments. In my gut it felt like this couldn't be the whole story, something important was missing. In the last period of the year I took my last master's course: a summer course on regenerative culture and inner sustainability, taught by Lian and Louise.

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It was like coming home, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The insight that major changes start within yourself is so logical and yet I had never learned it this way before in six years of university. The space to wonder, slow down, listen and actually hear. What was also new to me, and what I loved, is how the teachers positioned themselves - as facilitators of others' learning processes. No top-down hierarchy. But people work where human connections are the basis of learning. After my internship with Lian, I have now experienced the power of this from within and I know: I want to spread this further.

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Since the birth of my son, it has become even more of a theme that concerns me: How can I contribute here, close by? And also: now that I am literally face to face with the future, how do I pass on my love for the world and nature to the next generations? And certainly: what can you do as an adult to stay connected to your inner child?

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In this journey I have learned that the answers to the biggest questions often lie within ourselves. We just have to learn to listen in a completely different way than we are used to.  Caring for our planet and its inhabitants starts with a deep understanding of our own roles and responsibilities. It is this journey that gives me direction in a life that constantly presents challenges.