isele Bündchen has made sustainability

front and center in every aspect of her

life, from her perspective on beauty and

fashion to her parenting style, from the

causes she champions to the ways in

which she uses her platform to make

the greatest impact on the planet and

her family’s future. Ahead of her 40th

birthday, the model/activist—who is also

celebrating her 11th anniversary as a

Goodwill Ambassador for the United

Nations Environment Program (UNEP) this year—reflects on her

commitment to the planet and shares insights into how we can

all live a little more mindfully. —Sally Holmes

ON HER DEDICATION TO ENVIRONMENTALISM: Nature

has always played a significant role in my life, but it wasn’t

until I stayed with the Kı ̃sêdjê tribe in the Xingu region of the

Amazon in 2004 that I realized how nature was being de-

stroyed. It was there that I witnessed firsthand the devastating

problems the community faced from the pollution of the river

and deforestation. After that, all I knew was that I wanted to

help. Since then, I started to support different projects to pro-

tect forests and water sources.

A few years later, my father and I did Projeto Água Limpa

(Clean Water Project) in my hometown, Horizontina, in south-

ern Brazil. Over the course of five years, we planted more than

40,000 trees and took care of the land until the trees grew

strong, which helped improve the water quality and brought

amazing wildlife back to the area. Given the forest fires in the

Amazon, the bush fires in Australia, and the devastating impact

around the world, reforestation efforts are more crucial than

ever. I believe our responsibility is to take care of the earth and

its natural resources. Our survival depends on it. My goal in life

is to leave the earth in a better place for future generations.

G

80 MARIECLAIRE.COM April 2020