A few weeks ago, I contacted a couple of Newspapers in my home region. Simon Loignon interviewed me, and today there was an article in the French Newspaper “SUD OUEST” about a certain firefly! What a nice feeling! I love the idea of inspiring people with my story 🙂

Here is the French version followed by the English translation 🙂 Enjoy!

She prepares a Caribbean island for Climate Change

This is the story of a traveler à la Blaise Cendrars. One of those people who can’t stay in one place, who try to build a normal life, to no avail. At 32, Camille Bru is far from Colleignes, her hometown, former village in Bourran, near Tonneins. Gone since 5 months to the southern Caribbean, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, she follows her dream. “Traveling makes my world go round,” she says with that childhood smile that never left her. I caught the virus at the age of 15, when I went to the United States as an exchange student. I did it thanks to a scholarship funded by the Rotary Club of Tonneins. “

Eight years in the lab

As a biotechnology engineer, the young woman spends eight long years working in laboratories, researching medical advances, and finding cures for diseases. The intention is noble. But as in many areas, the reality is different. “It’s hard to understand the real impact of our work,” she says. Developing a new drug takes years, and is part of a difficult process. Few compounds, however promising, reach the patients in the hospital. “

This work of the shadow leads Camille to begin a long way of reflection. A path that will take her where she is today. “While it is important to find cures for diseases, it should be a priority to lead a healthier life for us and for nature,” says Camille. This would combat the causes of the world’s diseases, not the consequences. “

This introspection pushes her to change career, to want to venture on different paths, little used and still bushy. To lead a life in adequacy with her sensitivity and her values.

The opportunities to leave are legion, when you want to volunteer. “Between Workaway, Woofing and others, I was a little lost,” she concedes innocently. Then one day, in the flow of social networks, a message emerges from the Richmond Vale Academy. An invitation to follow a program, to prepare the island of St. Vincent for climate change, which she tells on her blog (www.the-firefly-wiht-a-travelbug.com).

An unusual school

The Richmond Vale Academy is not your usual school. Shifting the classical school hierarchy, it promotes active learning. Everyone is a student, and everyone is a teacher. As a military academy that would train future soldiers, the Richmond Academy, trains future ecologists, armed to, if not fight, at least better apprehend climate change, and raise awareness against poverty and inequality.

To prepare for this mission, several programs are available. “I’m currently on a six-month mission on climate change,” says Camille. We share the time between the study of ecology, through research, and the development of sustainable projects with the inhabitants of the island, such as the installation of solar panels, or the creation of gardens in permaculture for families so that they can eat better. Teachers and students live together. Everything is shared, including cleaning! It is an everyday challenge that develops personal qualities such as leadership and empathy. “

Reaching more than half of her program, Camille talks about her future: “I would like to travel and visit similar structures elsewhere in the world. I would also like to carry out field-work, to be in contact with nature. “