When I read this month's topic a couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be easy. As I came back to it, I realized I had been wrong. I have been thinking for hours and hours about the people I could write about. I considered writing about my local volunteer organisation, about my friends, about some famous people that support this cause but nothing seemed right. 

Then, I realized that I don't know a single environmental activist in Russia. Don't get me wrong, of course, there is a great number of people who care about the environment and urge other people to do the same. What I mean, is I could not think of a famous person who has had a significant impact on our environment.

At first, I got frustrated. There must be someone, right? Someone who created a (truly) biodegradable plastic or maybe someone who restored a forest after it had been cut down. Or maybe someone like Greta Thunberg or Leonardo DiCaprio who draw people's attention to the problems of climate. Then, I got sad because hours later, even after extensive research, I still could not find anyone in particular. 

But then I realized an important thing. We are the people who endeavour to better the environment. It's every single person who throws their bottle into a special container instead of a usual trash can. It's all the people who gather all their garbage for a whole month, waste their time on cleaning it and getting rid of labels, so they can send it to a recycling centre after. It's the people who say "No" to straws and plastic bags even though they are free. It's the people who change their diet, who turn off the tap while brushing their teeth, who throw their rubbish into a trash can. It's you and me.

And I think it's the most important thing. Yes, we need researchers and scientists who can create some alternatives to plastic or think of the ways we can reduce our carbon footprint. And of course, we need the influencers who can convince the public to join this movement and help them see how important, for example, recycling is. But we are the people who help the environment every day and no matter how small our actions may seem, they all matter. Without all these people, we would not be here right now.