Behind Green Steps: Liubov Tolstova

- Do you have a Nickname?
Well, I would like to have one, but I can’t imagine anything that will go well with mine. There are different ways in which my name can be transliterated in English, so the nickname would actually be very helpful, because people get confused sometimes :) Usually they call me Lyuba, but the full name is Lyubov’ (even though in passport it’s written like Liubov), which means “Love” in russian. But maybe one day I will come up with a good short nickname that I’ll like:)

- Explain to a stranger what do you do for Green Steps?
It’s been not a long time since I’ve started my volunteer period in Green Steps, but so far it was a lot of learning about the platform and exploring the nature around. We’ve tried and tested different quests and routes which you can find on the platform, took part in different ecological activities, e.g. The Plastic Pirates game, and even joined the class for their hiking day in the hills of Paudorf, helping them to navigate on the “Robin Hood” walk, which we organised for them.
But it was not only about learning and understanding how things work in the organization, but also finding something that you can contribute with, figuring out what you are good at and how you can help in Green Steps. I realized that I can help with video production and bringing up some music on our walks, as I play many different instruments and can add some fun to the quests, like it was in the last one, when we walked and sang together with kids while I played ukulele :)

- What is your daily routine? What is something you like doing and your coworkers maybe don’t know about you?
Well, I don’t have any certain routine that I stick to, but I like when I wake up early in the morning and have some time to do yoga, drink a cup of tea in the garden and write some morning notes. I really like to spend time outdoors, so quite often I go for a long spontaneous walks exploring the area around, be it a city or a nature park, where I can spend hours walking or riding a bicycle/scooter, discovering new routes, getting to know new interesting spots and taking pictures, as I love photography.
Also, a big part of my life is music, and, whenever I have some free time, I like to sing and play guitar, ukulele or piano. I also record music and I want to make it a part of my daily routine – to work on a few songs and music videos. Especially now, when it’s so much nature around, it could be a perfect time to record some music videos outdoors

- Use less than 250 words to tell a story about yourself: starting from “where are you from” to the choice of joining Green Steps.
I was born and grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia, and during my childhood I spent a lot of time outdoors in nature. We had a country-side with a garden 50km from the city where I spent every summer until I finished school, so nature got it special place in my heart. I studied Psychology at university and worked with children in different psychological and artistic camps, where they usually spent 2-3 weeks somewhere in nature out of the city, and I saw what a healing power the nature can have when you have a chance to spend more time outdoors. At that time, I also started to do music more and teach guitar classes to kids and teenagers, as well as working in a few musical camps which again usually took place out of the city during the school holidays. So, I realized that this is definitely something I would like to combine in my work – nature, psychology and music, and it feels like it’s something that I can do here in Green Steps!

I was a bit tired of living in such a big city like St.Petersburg, and I felt that I needed a break. At the same time, I had a long-term dream to spend a year somewhere close to nature on a project like the ESC. So I searched and tried to find the organizations that matches my interests and passions, - and Green Steps was definitely one of them!
So, here I am 😊

- Mention a book you read as a teenager that still tells something about you, and that you would still suggest reading.
One of my favorite books that I read when I was a kid, actually, not a teenager yet (but which immediately came to my mind as it definitely tells something about me), – “Pippi the Longstocking” by Astrid Lindgren. I read it a long time ago, but it might be interesting to re-read it now from an adult point of view. It was one of my favourite books because I liked how adventurous and brave the main character was, and how she was able to stay truly herself, without trying to fit into other people’s standards.
When I was reading this book as a kid, I associated myself with her a lot, as I could find many similarities not only in her non-standard behaviour and outrageous creativity, but also in some other things, like, the fact that she was growing without her father, as he was somewhere far away sailing the seas as a captain of the big ship, but she always knew that they will meet someday and was proud of him and happy that he does something he likes. My father was an opera singer and he moved to a different country when I was very small, which is sad, but I always knew that we will meet someday and was also inspired by what he has achieved in his life.

- How do you expect you and Green Steps to have an impact in the next years? Close with a wish for the organization.
I believe that there’s a lot that can be done through the collaboration and I think that reaching out to other communities might be something that will definitely help to spread the idea and get more people involved in what Green steps is doing right now. I wish we would be able to unite more people by developing different ecological activities together and move towards the global goals with a strong and inspiring community which Green steps may build in the future all over the world 😊