Spend time with the next generation.

We 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 mess that we’re in, a mess that we have the power to clean up. It’s exhausting. We know. And it’s daunting. It’s even rather daring to believe there is a better way to live when you look at the odds. But let’s throw the odds out with old. Odds are just odds. They do not define possibility, and they certainly do not define history. Human beings beat the odds all the time. Even our existence on Earth beats 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 all of this. We can also have some fun, especially if we look to the kids to change our point of view.⠀

So, 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 other cultures. Show them the magic of the weather, a sunrise, or a snowstorm. Take them to volunteer or to the library or to a nature clean up. 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 did wrong. In fact, when you see how they see the world, you might see it differently. You might learn. You might witness how they don’t care about convenience. ⠀

We don’t all have children in our lives, in which case, consider getting to know what young environmental activists are doing, what the next generation deeply cares about and what they are afraid of. You will soon see that kids all over care, and when adults open up to have real conversations, it’s a beautiful surprise the dialogue that can be shared between generations.

Do you want head start or a little help learning with these younger generations? We Are Earth Friends is turn-key, low-tech program that introduces children ages 3-8 to the wonder of our Earth and all life on it—and the goodness of human impact.