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Shaking her wavy caramel-coloured hair behind her, supermodel Gisele Bündchen swivels her

impossibly long, toned legs into position and fixes the camera with her penetrating gaze.

Looking at her, it’s no wonder that at the start of her catwalk career, the 5ft 11in Brazilian beauty was nicknamed “The Body” by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen.

She’s known for breaking new ground – it was Gisele who pioneered the so-called horse walk, where a catwalk model picks up her knees high and kicks her feet out in front – and now the 33-year-old is demonstrating a skill of a different kind.

Wearing simple black leggings and a vest top, her face without make-up and her hair pulled back into a ponytail, Gisele is showing the world her passion for the Chinese martial art of kung fu – and all to encourage us to look after the environment.

KEEPING IT REALAway from the glamour of glitzy red-carpet events and photoshoots with the likes of celebrated fashion photographer Mario Testino, Gisele is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme, which promotes the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment.

In the lead-up to this year’s World Environment Day, on 5 June, she joined forces with Hotel Rwanda actor Don Cheadle, Vampire Diaries heart-throb Ian Somerhalder and Manchester City and Ivory Coast footballer Yaya Touré to highlight the specific plight of small island developing states.

Their message is simple: “We are all connected. The challenges faced by islands will face us all. So every action we take to reduce waste and mitigate climate change counts.”

Each celebrity is championing a particular cause: to reduce personal power consumption; reduce our “foodprint”; to go greener; and to “purge plastics”. The campaign is inviting us all to pledge to take an appropriate action in support of one of these causes.

Advertisements for the campaign offer a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the global ambassadors. Viewers can see Gisele practising kung fu, Don playing a trumpet (he is due to play jazz legend Miles Davis in a biopic), and Yaya mentally preparing for the World Cup.

“It’s a fun way to draw everyone’s attention to the importance of the environment every year,” says Gisele in this exclusive interview with hello!.

“It was a huge honour for me to become a goodwill ambassador for the environment. I saw it as a great opportunity to join forces on the work I was already doing. I believe this is a good opportunity to help spread awareness.”

This year, Gisele, who has been an ambassador since 2009, is highlighting the need to reduce our “foodprint”.

“We need to manage our meals smartly,” she says in the campaign, “by storing food, using leftovers, buying imperfect vegetables and encouraging supermarkets and restaurants to cut food waste.”

It is a cause that the world’s highest-paid model has felt strongly about since she was a young girl.

Gisele, who shot to stardom as a Victoria Secret’s model and now fronts campaigns for Pantene and Chanel No.5 among others, was raised with a back-to-nature approach, along with her five sisters outside a small town in Brazil.

It’s a way of life she is passing on to her own children – Benjamin, four, and 18-month-old Vivian – with whom she and husband, American-football star Tom Brady, live in their Los Angeles eco home, complete with solar energy, vegetable garden and a rainwater recovery system.

Talking to hello! about her life and work, Giselle speaks of growing up close to nature, tells why she’s bringing up her own children the same way, and shares her hope that her passion for the environment will help save the planet.So, Gisele, is kung fu one of your great passions?“Yes, I’ve been learning it for over five years. I feel empowered and focused when I’m practising and, most importantly, I have fun. I love to move my body and engage in different kinds of sports.”In the new UN adverts, you are being filmed while practising kung fu. How do you think it will inspire others to help save the environment?“My dad always told me that the best way of showing something is by example. So by using my public exposure to draw attention to all these important issues, I believe I can help.

“If each one of us can work inside our homes, our neighbourhoods and our cities to promote change, we will start a movement.”What is the worst type of environmental damage you have encountered in your travels?

BRAZILIAN SUPERMODEL AND EARTH MOTHER

TALKS TO US ABOUT HER ECO LIFESTYLE AND PASSION FOR THE PLANET

GISELE BUNDCHENs

It comes as no surprise to fans of supermodel Gisele Bündchen that she’s a keen yogi – she regularly posts pictures of herself in various poses on Instagram (above right, taken last month in Arizona), but what may be news is her passion for kung fu, which she demonstrates in her new campaign for World Environment Day

‘It was a huge honour for me to

become a UN goodwill ambassador for the environment’

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“One that I see frequently is the pollution of rivers and lack of water. But there are so many problems and they’re all connected – climate change, air pollution, water, loss of wildlife. Everywhere I go I  see the impact of these problems.”Do these issues affect you more deeply now that you’re a mother?“Sure. I’m concerned about the future of my kids and all the kids around the world – they will suffer the consequences if we don’t take care of our planet. I’m worried about what we’re leaving behind for future generations. Although awareness has grown, we’re still not making changes fast enough.”How are you teaching your children to be environmentally aware?“If you want your kids to have good habits, you have to change your habits, too. You can’t expect them to turn off the lights or recycle garbage if they don’t see you doing it and you don’t have this routine at home.”Tell us about your eco house…“We have solar power and a water filter to avoid using a lot of plastic bottles. We’re also very conscious when carrying out our daily activities to avoid using too much water or energy.

“I’ve made simple things become part of our daily routine. For example, we recycle the garbage and compost what is not recycled.” As a supermodel you have a hectic schedule, but what is your home life like? “I try to keep my kids in contact with nature and do outdoor activities – go to parks,  collect vegetables from the garden, pick fruits from trees, understand where eggs come from and to be close to animals.

“In this way they can be more aware of the importance of nature. I had all that when I was growing up and it was an extremely positive part of my life.”So you were close to nature as a girl?“Yes, when I was a kid I used to spend holidays at my grandmother’s house, where there were chickens, cows and horses, and we could be totally integrated with nature. I love that and I miss it. Part of who I am today is due to the way I was raised in the countryside of Brazil.”You are glowing with health. What’s your secret?“Eating well and healthily, drinking a lot of water, exercise and meditating help me feel good.”Do Benjamin and Vivian take after you when it comes to diet?“My kids have tried all kinds of vegetables, fruits and grains. I try to keep it all organic and as natural as possible and do my best to avoid processed sugars. My day-to-day diet is healthy so it’s easy for me to have them eating healthily, too.” Have you persuaded any of your catwalk friends to follow in your environmentally friendly footsteps?“My intention is not to convince anybody to do the same as I do – we have the freedom to choose the way we wish to live. If someone comes to me and asks about how I eat healthily, it will be my pleasure to share what I’ve learned.

“This has happened with my five sisters – they wanted to know all about it and we’ve been exchanging recipes. But when it comes to the environment, I believe nobody does anything alone. We have to join forces – when we all work together, we can make big changes.”

INTERVIEW: SALLY MORGAN

‘My dad always told me that the best way of showing something

is by example’

Gisele radiates health and vitality and, though she claims not to own a

brush, is never less than picture-perfect.

Her arrival on the catwalk back in the

1990s is credited with putting an end to the

androgynous era of so-called “heroin chic”

To join a celebrity team and pledge to take action for World Environment Day, visit wedchallenge.com or unep.org/wed.

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Gisele practices kung fu in her new environmental campaign (right). Posting this photo of herself with her children (below) on Instagram, she wrote how motherhood had resulted in her desire “to turn the world into a better place”. After the campaign’s culmination on World Environment Day, she will turn her attention to her home nation Brazil and the World Cup (below right)

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