As I near the halfway point of my semester abroad (!), I’m starting to come into community with my sit spot. I’ve joined a run club, and we often run through a tunnel that connects the Jardin Botanique with Parc Barton. Running along the path with a group of people feels different from sitting on a bench alone. Maybe I can’t pause and reflect the same way I do alone because I’m caught up with trying to catch my breath, but these moments of community make me notice new things about my sit spot. The air I breathe in is now crisper. My shoes crunch leaves on the sidewalk. People have gone from lounging on the grass to setting up barbeques closer to the lake. And this is only the community above the ground. I imagine the worms wriggling in damp soil. I wonder what sort of life lives below the lake.

Last week was the Peace Week conference. I listened to a panel on how climate action can be used in peacebuilding. Climate action is inherently about resilience, cohesion, and long-term stability; when we care for the climate, we are righting our wrongs to build a world that is stronger than it is now. These are the same key characteristics for peacebuilding. Climate action can be a mechanism to bring the community together under a common purpose. I like this collective approach to addressing climate change. My carbon footprint in traveling to and from Geneva will be 2.38 tCO2e. Yet it’s not just me traveling to Geneva, it’s the other students at the Institute, the professionals coming from all over the world to power International Geneva, the people traveling here to platform their community’s concerns. It’s not enough to look at these individual scenarios, we have to realize that our fate is all tied up together like a yarn ball.

My idea to offset this carbon footprint would hinge on this community aspect. I think Geneva as a whole is already very conscious about carbon footprint, particularly with requiring people to sort out their waste for recycling and composting. Although I’ve been very conscious of not buying items I won’t be able to bring home or finish by the end of the semester, I know I’ll still be left with remaining spices, cleaning supplies, and other household items by December. Yet these items don’t have to be completely thrown away because with the constantly fluctuating population of International Geneva, there will certainly be others who will need this. Maybe I wouldn’t have to buy these items brand new if there was an easy way to get them secondhand. My project would upscale the Sustainability Sale at Wellesley. There could be a central location where people could turn in their stuff when they move out. People arriving in Geneva could pick up what they need. There could be a “pay-what-you-can” system or an exchange aspect to ensure no one is unable to get necessities due to financial constraints. Not only would people have a place to offload their stuff and get what they need, but it could also introduce an element of community. Maybe as you go to pick up a broom, you meet a new friend who has also just moved to the city or get some advice from someone seasoned in living in the area.