Gisele Bündchen’s love of nature is no secret — especially to those who follow her on Instagram. The top-billing model regularly finds time for oceanside sunset salutations, family nature hikes, jogs through the fall foliage and baths with horses. If there’s a picturesque landscape to admire, you can bet Gisele has held up a hand heart to it. Now, everyone’s favorite Earth Mother is using her time away from the runway to preserve that which she values most (aside from family, of course).
Bündchen, who currently acts as a United Nations Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador, is bolstering her conservation efforts by lending her star power to the UN’s Wild for Life campaign, which launched yesterday, as those of you who follow @gisele may already know.
In our social media-run world, the best way to grab the attention of the masses is to give us something we can connect with and share (or hashtag). In the case of #WildforLife, that special something is our kindred endangered animal. To promote the campaign, Gisele took to Instagram to share the plight of her spirit animal, the sea turtle. (A short quiz on the Wild for Life’s site will reveal yours.)
“Recently, I was made aware of the numerous challenges facing so many of our most beloved species because of the illegal trade in wildlife. This shameful trade is pushing species to the edge of extinction,” Bündchen elucidated in a coinciding blog post for the Huffington Post.
“We need to prompt a radical, global shift in thinking about the illegal trade in wildlife. This is why I am supporting the United Nation’s Wild for Life campaign,” the passionate preservationist continued. The movement’s goal? “To encourage everyone, everywhere to use their own powerful spheres of influence to spark involvement and pledges for no killing, buying, gift giving, trafficking, weak governance or turning a blind eye.”
What compelled the activist to choose nature as her focus? The mother of two holds that the environment shaped the person she is today. “Nature never ceases to inspire me, and it is where I escape to recharge. It has both intrinsic power and the ability to move us beyond selfish pursuits to see the interconnection and interdependence in life. Nature is our teacher.”
Nature…and conscientious public figures. If you, too, are feeling inspired, you can find out how you can further contribute to the anti-poaching cause here. In the words of Gisele: “When we carelessly harm the planet and all of the precious species of plants and animals, we damage ourselves. We are all part of nature and all life is connected. If you hurt one species, you hurt them all and we humans are not exempt. We have the ability to explain this interconnectedness with science, but we also simply feel it in our souls.”
[ via Vogue ]
