Everyone has their environmental story and Katrin tells us about hers. Growing up in East Germany during the height of the cold war with the US and Russians on either side of Germany left her area very toxic and polluted. Her parents grew their own food, and once while taking a sample of the soil, she had an open cut which made her hand swell up, and later Katrin realized she had blood poisoning from heavy metal in-ground.

Katrin says that climate change’s impact is pervasive and can be seen everywhere.  It affects the soil and the quality of the food we eat, which then affects our bodies and mind, productivity and wellbeing, etc. Katrin says that making those connections helps you see how imminent the problem is and makes you take responsibility.

Due to climate change’s complexity, Katrin stresses interdisciplinary solutions to the problem. Her work exemplifies this as she was a lecturer at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, teaching sustainable landscape design which was a combination of engineering, design, and environmental sustainability. In her consulting work, she worked to draft the plans for Qatar’s 2022 world cup to be carbon neutral. Now, at Sustainable QATAR the focus is on garnering widespread individual action.

The important thing to realize is that environmental wellbeing is not dichotomous to personal wellbeing and prosperity. Katrin says that living an environmentally friendly life is cheaper on a personal level and a macro-level, investments can be made in green technology to also boost the economy. Moreover, a sustainable lifestyle is also healthier and benefits your mental health as well. All of these things can go together and this is the vision we should be aiming towards.

When asked about COVID, Katrin says that it is the impact of our actions. She says that “Our world is sick and it is an outcome of how we are treating the environment”. Despite all the challenges she faces, she says her competitive swimmer and brick layering experiences have shaped her mindset and attitude which helps her remain an eternal optimist to make things work.