Did Thailand's plastic bag ban solve our problem?

I started this article before the virus hit and was feeling Thailand's celebratory backslapping over its plastic bag ban needed looking into. 

I wanted to hear from the people who called for the initiative and ask them what more needed to be done. 

It became apparent that the pandemic was creating vast amounts of single use plastic waste so I re-angled the piece, just before publication on regional news site Coconuts, to reflect this. 

During lockdown Bangkok city authorities reported an explosion in levels of plastic waste as people relied on home deliveries and huge numbers of contaminated face masks piled up. 

When the country re-opened, it became obvious the economy and society's wasteful attitude to plastic had not gone away. 

I met with six grassroots environmental change-makers to hear how the battle against single-use plastic has gone and what’s next to protect our environment from plastic peril. 

Photo: Warawat Sabhavasu

Warawat "Bibb" Sabhavasu of Trash Hero Bangkok volunteered to care for Mariam the Dugong, who won and then broke Thai hearts with her internet videos showing cute antics and her subsequent death from ingesting plastic waste.

Photo: Baramee Temboonkiat / Greenpeace 

Tara Buakamsri, Country Director for Greenpeace helps orchestrate campaigns on plastic pollution in Thailand and wants the public to connect their use of throwaway plastic to the bigger environmental picture.

Photo: Grin Green International 

Almost done with school, Marlena Wilson runs Grin Green International - a school based NGO with a mission to rid Thailand of single use plastic. Here she is at a climate strike.

Photo: Biel Calderon / Greenpeace

Bored in class, Nanticha “Lynn” Ocharoenchai was inspired by Greta Thunberg to found the group Climate Strike Thailand and feels people need to understand that climate change is about much more than plastic bags. 

Photo: Ewen Mcleish 

Chanin “Nammon” Srisuma is one of the faces behind Refill Station, the shop-cum-cafe which allows customers to purchase toiletries and household products in pre-loved containers brought from home. 

Photo: Prasopsuk Lerdviriyapiti

Prasopsuk Lerdviriyapiti, aka Eco-Artist Pom, has spent the last 15 years creating art to highlight the plastic tide engulfing Thailand’s seas. She uses plastic waste from Phuket's beaches to put together her masterpieces.

It was a real pleasure to meet and virtually meet all these lovely people and find out their thoughts on the plastic issue and dreams for a brighter, greener future. Thank you to everyone for your time. 

I concluded the article with a call for real government actions on plastic pollution and our wider environmental crisis, and the hope that green strategies will be central to the new policies needed to move Thailand on from the disruption caused by Covid 19. 

The full article is available here on Bangkok Coconuts. 

8 life hacks for greener Bangkok living - now and after the pandemic.

As the world shut down and the Coronavirus pandemic spread across national borders, I noted how the news media was (rightly so) packed with stories and information on this incredible crisis.  

But I wondered how to keep sustainability and the changes we need to support it on the agenda. After all, we couldn't (and still can't) afford to put our environmental crisis 'on the back burner.'  

My Coconuts feature article, highlighting ways to live greener under lockdown, was my response. 

I wanted to showcase some things Bangkok people could do while living under quarantine or in self isolation that may help repair our world if maintained in the long run. 

The 8 ideas for living green and making a difference under lockdown were: 

1. Home working

2. Cycling more

3. Being an armchair activist 

4. Growing your own

5. Going plant-based diet 

6. Becoming a citizen scientist 

7. Eating what you have (a response to panic buying)

8. Finishing those abandoned projects 

Each idea contained a little explanation of the problems to be tackled and why the idea would be beneficial for the planet. 

I was also pleased to give a shout out to the MARsCI citizen science project where Facebook users can upload photos of their marine biology 'spots' to aid research and to Grow Learning Gardens, who produce wooden planters especially designed for Bangkok balconies. 

I end the article by concluding: 

'Cynics may ask, why bother with all these efforts as health care systems struggle and the economy tanks? While 2020’s COVID-19 crisis is extremely challenging, it pales in comparison to our environmental crisis. From crisis comes opportunity, and positive steps like those above are not only good for the soul, adding hope and value to our lives, but they may translate into some of the big changes needed to solve the planetary peril we face.'

It's a fresher piece, with more of my own 'voice' and opinion in it than usual.  I wrote it with more urgency than normal. 

I hope it was inspiring in the dark times we were experiencing. To read the full article: click here. 

International School Awards 2020 - Winners!

My work as environmental sustainability coordinator at the school where I teach and my writing came together as 2019 came to a close and 2020 began:

International Schools Awards Ceremony in London. Photo: ICSREARCH.COM 

Our school was nominated for the International School Awards organized by International School Leader Magazine in the environmental initiative category.

The initiative in question was Bangkok based environmental education group Eco Beasts, which started life at our school but now stands as a fully independent project of its own. The school maintains an active Eco Beasts after school club, which I help run.

This lead to two opportunities to tell the story:

Firstly, the school asked me to write a promo piece announcing our nomination, published in Expat Life in Thailand. 

We then won, not only the environmental category but also international school of the year! 

So my second article told the Eco Beast story, as it unravelled in our school for a global audience of educators, appearing in International School Leader Magazine. Find the PDF here.

It was nice to be able to bring together my interests in both sustainability and education, as well as write about a considerable success! 

From rescued to rescuers, orphans-turned-medics run remote Thai ambulance service

Really happy to be sharing this piece about the Bamboo School and its extraordinary work training youngsters as medics in a part of Thailand, previously cut off from the country's healthcare system.

It's a slight departure from my usual environmental/sustainability themes, but I feel a truly sustainable future cannot be built without providing access to healthcare for all.

The Bamboo School runs the only ambulance service in this remote part of Thailand. Photo: The Bamboo School and Friends.

I was lucky enough to visit the Bamboo School and interview Catherine Riley-Bryan. She is an exceptional lady, whose work with underprivileged youngsters fleeing the troubles across the border in Myanmar is remarkable.  It was an insightful experience and she told me stories I will never forget.

I love the quote Riley-Bryan gave me to sum up her work:

“If we can change our kids’ mindsets from merely surviving into actually thriving, and get them looking at how they can help others, rather than what they can grab for themselves: then they can overcome some of the problems they have inherited.” 

I'd like to thank Mowai Apisuttipanya and Bamboo School student Suriwan for answering my questions as well. Mowai has been connected with the Bamboo School since childhood and is now a fully qualified medical doctor, who cut his teeth on the ambulance project.

Catherine Riley-Bryan and Mowai Apisuttipanya stand proudly next to the Bamboo School’s long-serving, first ambulance. Photo: Helen Mullen

The article focuses on the 'ins and outs' of establishing and running a fleet of rural ambulances, how Riley-Bryan gets the teenagers involved and the impact the project is having.  Since they got their first ambulance in 2009 the project has inspired many youngsters to seek careers in medicine.

Pupils enjoying a meal at The Bamboo School. Photo: The Bamboo School and Friends

Pupils receive sponsorship to complete their studies, and the results are impressive. Two have become public health nurses, one of whom runs the local government clinic. Another five are now qualified nurses working at nearby hospitals. Three more former students are currently in medical school.

The Bamboo School also run a clinic which provides essential healthcare to the local community. Photo: Ewen Mcleish

I am grateful to Coconuts for publishing my article, please check it out in full here. Thanks also to Helen Mullen of Eco Beasts for the introducing me to the Bamboo School.

There are many children and young people living at the Bamboo School who are in need of sponsorship and support to find out more visit The Bamboo School online.