Paris (Francia), 09/24/2022, Sr. Pascaline Bilgo.- We met with Sr Anne-Claire, from the community at 312 rue de Vaugirard, Paris, to do a short interview with her and talk about ecology.

Sr. Anne Claire and Sr. Pascaline

PB: Sister Anne-Claire, could you introduce yourself more fully to the listeners?

A-C T: I am Anne-Claire, I am 33 years old and I made profession in October 2020. I am a schoolteacher for children with disabilities and I am studying theology. I have been involved in scouting since I was 7 years old and now accompany groups of Scouts and Guides of France who are abroad.

PB: Sister, we have noticed that you have a passion for ecological issues and this leads to concrete actions, so much so that we perceive it as a vocation. Do you share our impressions?

A-C T: I would not call it a passion, nor a vocation, but rather an awareness of the personal and collective responsibility we have regarding ecological issues. I am sure that we can all, in our small way, adopt simple gestures to take care of our planet and our humanity. There are many small gestures that are easy to adopt: washing the dishes without leaving the water running, turning off the light when leaving a room, sorting your waste, composting etc.

PB: How did this concern for the well-being of nature come about?

A-C T: I think scouting has a lot to do with it. I grew up learning to respect nature, taking the time to look at it closely to perceive its beauty. My scout leaders were able to awaken my conscience. I also think about my family, my parents and my brothers and sisters act concretely and claim their ecological way of life... they are much more aware than I am on the issue!

PB: What message would you like to transmit to all the Dominican sisters on this ecological question and on your own initiatives in relation to ecology?

A-C T: What I would like to say is simply that even if it may seem difficult to put in place, there are things that are possible. The change of habits will be unavoidable but it is worth it. We are all able to reduce the amount of packaging in our communities, to sort our waste. I also think it would be interesting to ask ourselves how we consume; perhaps we could support our local farmers and market gardeners by buying their produce directly from them? And when we are in the city... well, nowadays cooperatives are multiplying, you just have to open the internet to know where the nearest one is.