Louka Delautre
Regional Crew Director, Europe
Louka Delautre lives in Germany and has represented Earth Guardians at conferences and in panel discussions about the future of activism and the impact of youth leadership across Europe.
As a child, Louka grew up in a small French village surrounded by nature, and today, draws deep inspiration from these earliest imprints in his work with Earth Guardians. His first experience with activism was fundraising with his high school to benefit from a campaign addressing social inequality. This experience led him to work with Oxfam in Mannheim while studying Business Administration at the University of Mannheim. While looking in the city, Louka noticed the stark differences between the cleanliness and serenity offered by his hometown in its natural environment and the impact of pollution and the cement hardscapes of city life. At University, he began getting involved with students organizing against climate change and working towards developing sustainable solutions to reclaim natural open spaces in urban environments. Louka recognizes the importance of green spaces on our mental health.
“If people see the benefit that the Earth’s natural spaces provide, they will contribute actively and in harmony to saving our planet.” – Louka Delautre
After founding the Earth Guardians Mannheim crew, Louka and his team developed various projects ranging from clean walks to offering workshops in schools and are currently working to build a community garden. Louka recognizes the stress-reducing and transformative power of forests, rivers, and nature in their diverse forms. He is passionate about bringing nature back to the city.
“This is the story of my fellow urban-dwelling human beings at this time in our history: It is 6 a.m. when my alarm jolts me awake. I stumble to the kitchen, make coffee for myself, and don’t think about where it came from or how it was shipped across the world, ending up in my kitchen. Half-asleep, I linger in the shower a little too long, wasting the water and the energy provided to warm it. I drive alone to work in my diesel car. My work is stressful, and the city is too busy, and because I don’t have enough time for lunch, I run into a chain store by lunch. I unpack the salad I bought for lunch, tossing the plastic bag in the bin that the grocery clerk packed it in. I hastily open the plastic box and use the disposable plastic fork to inhale my food, which I try not to notice tastes like plastic. When I get home that night, I check my mail, stuffed full of junk mail and circulars that I toss in the trash. I am so exhausted that I forget to turn off the lights before going to bed.
"We have no time. It was too expensive. Politicians are the problem,” they say.
"Everyone has power. People power is more powerful than people in power,” we say.
This is the story about why I joined the Earth Guardians movement, wake up motivated to impact my environment positively, and am passionate about offering new sustainable solutions to society. The fight against climate change is filled with stereotypes, and my goal is to show others that we each have a skill we can contribute to saving the planet and living modern life in harmony with nature. Every small action, repeated and scaled up, has a huge impact. Start little, strive for big.” - Louka Delautre.