Team - Sophie Ryeland

Sophie is a student at the Godolphin and Latymer School, studying Geography, Economics, Spanish and English Language at the A-Level standard. She currently aspires to study a Geography based subject at university and hopes to learn more about the geographical world and its environmental problems along this journey. 

During three and a half weeks in July 2019, Sophie embarked on a student-led expedition through Malaysia and Borneo  with World Challenge. During this time she visited an orangutan sanctuary in which the animals are not held in captivity,  trekked throughout the Bornean jungle, flew over the vast palm oil plantations, and volunteered in a dive resort focusing on a turtle conservation project. This entailed night patrols of the beach to help collect the freshly hatched turtle eggs, transporting the eggs into a hatchery, beach cleans, coral conservation, and helping with the recycling scheme at the resort. All of these activities opened her eyes up to the vulnerability of our planet and how rewarding it feels to help conserve what we have left. In addition, she learnt how to adapt to a more environmentally friendly lifestyle back in London, whilst encouraging others to take action and play their part simultaneously. 

Sophie aims to promote awareness about topics that are less frequently spoken about, such as fast fashion and animal extinction. 

She  believes that her role as a Young Trustee will enable her to learn more about the environmental issues we are facing today and therefore she will be able to inform more people and spread awareness through social media and communication.