Hang out with little kids.
The adults now are the stewards of the world that the next generation will grow up in, live in, raise families in, love and learn and lose in. Imagine leaving them with this environmental and societal cluster-f that we’re in, which is a mess that we have the power to clean up. It’s overwhelming and exhausting. We know. And it’s daunting and pretty sad. In fact, given the odds, it’s daring to believe there is a better way to live. But let’s throw the odds out with old. Odds are just odds. Odds do not define possibility, and they certainly do not define history. Human beings have beat the odds time and time again. Even our existence on Earth beats the galactic odds. We can be daring and mess up and try hard and then harder and cry and stomp our feet and holler when we need to release the tension of living through this moment.
We can also have some fun in this moment in time, especially when we look to the kids to change our point of view.⠀
How can you spend time with the children in your world? Show them the beauty of all that surrounds us, an appreciation for diversities, and the power of community. Take them out in nature. Read them books about change and about other cultures. Show them the magic of the weather, a sunrise, or a snowstorm. Take them to volunteer at a soup kitchen or to the library or to a nature clean up in your community. Have children? Allow your children to learn with you, how you recycle, how you garden, how you clean, cook, refill, reuse, shop pre-loved—all the ways you take care of what matters. They don’t have to learn what we didn’t do right. In fact, when you see how they see the world, you might see it differently too. You might learn—or unlearn. You might witness how they don’t care about convenience. ⠀
Not everyone has children in our lives, in which case, consider getting to know what the younger environmental activists are doing or what Generation Alpha deeply cares about and also what they are afraid of. You will soon see that big and little kids all over care, and when adults open up to have real conversations, the dialogue that can be shared between generations is a beautiful surprise
Do you want head start or a little help learning with these younger generations? We Are Earth Friends is a turn-key, low-tech environmental education program that introduces children ages 3-8 to the wonder of our Earth and all life on it—and the goodness of human impact.
