{"id":14337,"date":"2023-05-25T09:57:58","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T01:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/?page_id=14337"},"modified":"2023-07-13T08:59:19","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T00:59:19","slug":"meet-krishna","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/support-curtin\/planet-positive\/meet-krishna\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Krishna"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Krishna Karthikeyan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Growing up in singara<\/em> (beautiful) Chennai in India, rainy days were always my favourite kind of day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The smell of the earth as rain clouds approached, and the calming sight of coconut trees dancing in the wind are some of my most cherished memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember kicking a deflated football around with my brother under magnificent mango trees and running outside every morning to collect freshly blossomed hibiscus flowers for our grandmother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collecting ripening mangoes had become an exciting sport for my friends and me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we’d scout the tree for the lowest hanging fruit, then it was time to put our throwing skills to the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking aim, we’d mark the juiciest mangoes we could find and throw stones at our targets until they were knocked to the ground for our collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, in 2015, a flood shattered my home town and took with it a piece of my fondest childhood memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just 13 at the time, I remember having to stay home from school that day due to road safety concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The elation of school being cancelled soon waned when I watched from my balcony with growing concern as the heavy rainfall destroyed all in its path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unforgiving winds howled across our neighbourhood and crushed the frail hibiscus tree we had cherished for so many years and that my grandmother relied on for her morning pooja <\/em>(worship).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, I woke to find our beloved mango tree was stripped of its once strong and sturdy branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those branches did not get a chance to grow back before cyclone Vardah arrived a year later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we had done the previous year, my family stocked up on food and water to last us a few days just in case it wasn\u2019t safe to leave our home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winds reached 110kmph, and we would only have electricity every couple of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those of us in the apartment building where we lived would find ways to support each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neighbours would exchange milk, bread, rice and dosa batter in the staircases, meeting in-between floors and avoiding opening their doors as much as possible to protect their homes from wind and rainwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember walking up the stairs to my friend\u2019s home, with my feet soaking wet in the puddles of water that had come in through broken windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The staircase had become our only source of connection and exercise, since the elevators stopped working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t safe to drive in the flash floods, or in the strong winds as heavy objects could fall onto the road at any time \u2013 so we stayed home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember one morning my friend and I were staring out the window at our flooded football field, wondering when we\u2019d be allowed to go outside and play again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was low visibility because of the clouds and the relentless rain, and as we inched closer to get a better look, the glass started to vibrate in the wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Startled we jumped back from the windowpane just seconds before it shattered, landing on our feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several lives were lost, and over 18,000 trees had fallen during that cyclone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next flood was in 2021, and I watched as the carefully replanted trees from cyclone Vardah, were snapped in half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I kept wondering about the \u2018how and why\u2019 of these wicked events every time we lost a tree to the wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is now 2023, and I have had the privilege of learning about the causes and impacts of climate change \u2013 the \u2018how and why\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education is key to empowering individuals and communities to become agents of change in combatting the climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planet Positive presents us with that opportunity, encouraging us to think beyond our careers and consider how we can make a positive impact on the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It challenges the idea that only environmental scientists can fight this global challenge, highlighting that it is a multidisciplinary issue that requires everyone within society to take responsibility and work towards progressing change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will provide students with the knowledge, tools, skills and networks which can be used to tackle climate change head on, regardless of their discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, Planet Positive represents hope for a better future, one in which sustainability and social responsibility are at the forefront of our minds.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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