Sari Laine from Tapiolan Honka and efforts for a better planet. 

A story from Ashish R. Chalavadi & Ndalinoshisho Amorongo

We are Ash and Ndali,  two students from the International School of Helsinki. We have both come to LiiKe – Sports & Development -organisation based in Helsinki and sub offices in Tanzania, to experience our TET internship week. At LiiKe we have been discussing the 0% emissions plan for sports teams and organisations, and implications and effects of climate change on our world, and lastly to understand how interviews work and function. We decided to have an interview on this important topic with someone experienced and talented in this specific area. We decided to interview Sari Laine, the learning specialist in biodiversity and everyday life at Sitra. Sari Laine is an enthusiast in helping the world to become a better place for her children and others as well. She has been personally understanding and researching biodiversity and working with Tapiolan Honka in  her free time to achieve the quota of a “0% emissions led team”

We asked her several questions that helped us both to understand more about this important cause of achieving 0% emissions: The interview took place at Sari Laine’s main office at Sitra, and the interview took about an hour. Our goal during the interview was to understand the different aspects of how we can help out with our climate change issues and to ask a very specific but interesting question that we had in mind for her.

What steps did Tapiolan Honka take to achieve 0% emissions?

Sari Laine shared with us the methods and steps they took so Tapiolan Honka could reach the quota of “0% emissions led team”. As they encouraged students to cycle to the sports facilities instead of using public transport or cars, another idea was to implement ridesharing where each car would be filled, They also encourage players to give out their old gear or have this thrift store wear fans or regulars could buy the used clothes and gear to reduce the number of clothes being thrown away and to generally live a more sustainable lifestyle. After these steps were taken by Tapiolan Honka, other sports teams noticed and changed the ways they were working as well. They took Tapiolan Honka as a great example and now many teams are striving for the same things as Tapiolan Honka to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Do you think that every team around the world should follow what Tapiolan Honka is doing?

Sari’s response to this question was, “yes! Absolutely everyone should take Tapiolan Honka as an example”. She continued by saying that there is a tipping point in the world’s average heat where there will come a time when the average heat of the earth will increase and will be unstoppable, but the small steps we take will determine how much affect we have on our home, the earth.

Where would one play if it was 50 degrees celsius? 

Our main objective of the interview was to ask this specific question, Where would one play if it was 50 degrees celsius? She gave us an example of the time they were in Spanish outdoors where her daughter, a Finnish native, was playing in the harsh Spanish heat. Her daughter was at the point of melting on the asphalt as it was too hot for her, and once she went inside for a single game, her daughter and her team won the game. Just proving that basketball is known for it to be played indoors as the climate is controlled and calm. She continued to answer our question by saying “the more logical place to play a sport at 50 degrees celsius would be indoors, but this comes with some cons too”. Sari tells us that while playing indoors for example basketball,  it costs a lot to keep the room at a constant temperature, and this is probably the only con of this situation of playing indoors that it will take a lot of funding to maintain the indoor environment. The pros of having to play indoors would encourage people to play indoors as it is too hot outside and people would be wanting some cool air.

If Tapiolan Honka would be in this scenario of 50 degrees, wouldn’t it be hard to keep the “0% emissions led team” quota? 

Sari explained that it would surely be hard to find funding for the maintenance but it doesn’t give us an option to give up and fall down. All great things start from somewhere and some things start out hard or harsh but will turn around once you get the flow.

In conclusion, the interview not only went very smoothly and well but also gave us a new perspective on how an individual like us can have an impact on the growing issues of climate change. Sari Laine helped young people of my age understand and act to live a more sustainable lifestyle, it not only was an educational experience for the youngsters but it was a lot of a show of action. Helping the planet one step at a time, while showing others how it is done, creating a domino effect for the better.

// Reminder // 

Liikunnan Kehitysyhteistyö LiiKe is hosting an event in SuomiAreena in Pori on Monday 11th July at 1 PM, 2022. Sari Laine is one of the panelists that will be discussing the question “Where do you play if it’s +50 degrees?”  To find out more about the event 

Thursday, 13, May 2022