The winner of Miss Earth South Africa, Tamerin Jardine shares her secrets and passions with Live Eco. A representative from Miss Earth will be Live Eco’s Avant Garde dress runway show’s MC at the CTICC on 24 November 2012, hence we wanted to know more about the Miss Earth pageant and Tamerin herself, who has accomplished so much already and is determined to keep bringing about change. The inside scoop is here, Tamerin lets it all out giving Live Eco a personal interview.
Live Eco (LE): Who or what inspires you the most?
Tamerin: What inspires me is people who live each day to the fullest – especially those faced with adversity and achieve in spite of it all – inspires me beyond words.
LE: What is beauty according to you?
Tamerin: Beauty is when someone smiles from within, when you can see that they are genuinely happy, when their inner beauty shines through. A moment of natural beauty was sitting at the Victoria Falls in Zambia when I was there as a national finalist of Miss Earth South Africa in association with Consol thanks to Organic Reliance, it was a night time viewing, you couldn’t see the size of the falls beauty but you could hear their power. So for me, “beauty is that not seen with the eyes but felt with the heart.”
LE: What do you think are the challenges South Africa faces when dealing with global climate change?
Tamerin: Misinformation and ignorance with regards to climate change are the greatest threats we as South Africans face. If each person knew his or her power to make a difference, to global climate change we would be in a much stronger position. If each person knew what they could do to reduce their waste, water use, energy use, their carbon emissions and so much more, imagine the South Africa we could live in if each person made a change in their lifestyle to be green and eco-friendly. Another issue facing South Africa is our energy consumption. We are a developing country and we are at a critical point, one where we, as a country, need to be more energy-conscious and need to start implementing more sustainable forms of energy.
LE: Tell us about one life-changing experience in your life.
Tamerin: The most oblivious and incredible life-changing experience is winning Miss Earth South Africa in association with Consol. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to be an environmental leader and follow in the incredible footsteps of an icon of mine, Dian Fossey.
LE: Tell us about the most beautiful place in South Africa and why you are drawn to protecting it?
Tamerin: The Kruger National Park, one of my greatest loves in life are animals and the beauty of one of largest animal reserves in South Africa is just for me the greatest and most beautiful place in South Africa and each and every South Africa should be making a conscious effort to protect the natural heritage; our animals and our land.
LE: How will you motivate others to practice sustainable living choices?
Tamerin: Humans are naturally inclined to take the economically “easier” route. By educating South Africans with regards to eco-conscious consumerism, reducing their electricity consumption, having a veggie and, as always, to reduce, reuse and recycle, I believe we can create a society that prides itself on sustainability.
LE: What is the most important lesson a person should learn in life and how has being apart of Miss Earth helped you learn this lesson?
Tamerin: Be conscious of your own decisions and actions, as the effects of your decisions may be tremendous. If you don’t recycle you are filling a landfill that is nearly at capacity, if you don’t reduce your consumption – especially of scarce natural resources like water – you contribute to an unsustainable way of living, and if you don’t reuse whenever possible, not only do you negatively impact on your pocket, but you exacerbate the problem of unsustainable consumerism. Miss Earth SA has opened my eyes to impacts that my decisions and actions have on our Mother Earth. We need to be conscious of our actions and start changing them to make a positive impact. Miss Earth SA organisation recently planted its 20,000th tree at a school in Diepsloot, which, we were horrified to find out, was situated on a landfill. If we have schools already situated on landfills where will our children’s and grand children’s schools and homes be situated?
LE: Would you say you and the other Miss Earth Girls are a tight loving group of friends, or are there moments of tension?
Tamerin: I think when you put a group of strong-willed and determined young women together you will always get heated debates, but at the same time we all found friendships and took solace in each other and I have definitely formed bonds that will last a life time.
LE: Which Miss Earth sustainability project has been the most rewarding to work on?
Tamerin: Planting 1400 trees in a week in Zambia was an incredible project and it was so rewarding to make a difference on such a large scale. Also planting beans with students throughout the country in a Consol glass jar, thereby spreading the message of food security and developing a love and respect for plants as well as the benefits of glass. The children loved to know they had the power to grow and nurture a plant from its beginning stages.
LE: As a participant of Miss Earth South Africa how do you embody Miss Earth’s platform of empowering young women with the knowledge to create a sustainable differences?
Tamerin: Being the newly crowned Miss Earth South Africa in association with Consol, it has been of the utmost importance to live and breathe being green. As a leadership programme, the Miss Earth South Africa teaches us to be leaders and gives each participant the platform to impart green knowledge in the minds of the people we meet and interact with. We are able to network and create a bigger future for ourselves and educate the youth of South Africa. I embody the platform by always making green choices by being a true ambassador and always being true to myself and the platform. For me personally, I couldn’t think of a better job or platform.
LE: When given the option do you purchase and use organic, natural, eco friendly beauty products? Which brands are your favourites?
Tamerin: I LOVE BECCA its not tested on animals and a very environmentally friendly brand and amazing makeup. I also love Jane Irendale, the Body Shop is where a lot of my soaps and treats for my bathroom come from. All my face products are Garnier and when I do go for a spa treatment its at Camelot day Spa and they use Cspa on which is environmentally friendly. My hair is done by Bijan, which uses environmentally friendly products. So, basically, yes, my whole beauty regime is green and eco-friendly.
LE: What choices do you make outside of Miss Earth South Africa to live more sustainably?
Tamerin: My house we recycle, we have a bokashi food waste composter from Earth Probiotic, which we then use in the vegie garden. We have CFL’s, LED lights are slowly being put in all the rooms as the lights die. We use an eco-friendly kettle in the house and the geysers all run on timers, and we un-plug everything not in use. All of these things are easy to do, cost very little and can make an enormous impact, when everyone chips in.
LE: In a blog you wrote, “I intend to dedicate myself whole-heartedly to being a Green Ambassador, to representing the Miss Earth South Africa brand in a way that makes its custodians proud.” Live Eco, wants to know 5 characteristics that make you a great Green Ambassador.
Tamerin: I am passionate about the plight of animals and believe if we all made eco-friendly decisions their plight would improve drastically. I am driven to make an impact and show others how being green can be glamorous and friendly to you wallet and it’s the best life decision one can make. I like to keep myself informed, I love doing research and expanding my knowledge and understand as many environmental issues we have and form my own opinion through others opinions and research. I am aware and conscious of my decisions and the impact they can make on my environment and those around me. I am green for me I have always believed in being green and living green – it wasn’t just a choice but the only way of life I see.
LE: Do you have a boyfriend? And if so does he support your Miss Earth Title, and if not, what qualities do you want in a boyfriend
Tamerin: At the moment my life is far too busy to have a serious guy in my life, this is my year to shine and push my limits. I have not felt the need in my life to be defined by a man; I have completed my degrees, and achieved through my own efforts. When I am ready, I that hope, whoever he is, he will support my decisions and help me to achieve all that I can, he should encourage me and want me to grow.
