The speakers shared their own, personal environmental idols, and the impacts they had on their lives. “I just love what Leonardo di Caprio has done with his reach,” shared Fernandez. “One half of him is glitz and glamour, but he uses 1000% of his social media strictly pertaining to the environment. He doesn’t have to do that… I follow him every day, and he really walks the walk and talks the talk. I appreciate that someone such as that can have the environment play such a pivotal part in his life.”

“When you’re doing environmental work, or any type of developmental work, it’s pretty much all or nothing. You really have to be as dedicated and as passionate as you can be, because the goal at the end of the day is to create as much impact as you possibly can,” said Cancio. Cancio is dedicated to sustainable tourism, working through Sainted Roots to promote the practice in rural Africa. An advocate of the industry, she sees the potential of sustainable tourism in the Philippines, both for the sake of the environment and for rural communities.

The panelists also shared what they believed to be effective ways of sharing conservation principles with the public. “Social media has immense and incredible power,” shared Huang. “While shock and awe are always an effective factor, it’s good to weave sustainability narratives into our day-to-day lives, make them attractive, trending… It normalizes this attitude of sustainability and conservation.” Huang herself explores ways to make fashion sustainable, and uses her platform as a writer to discuss conservation concepts that are of importance to the youth.