Attainable Actions
Start small with what you love!
Nurturing Kinship with Children and Nature
- Keep a birdfeeder (if it’s safe from cats!)
- Take walks! Take your time and encourage mindfulness.
- Plant a garden to grow food or invite pollinators together.
- Nurture nature in your yard together. Take time to watch the birds, the creatures, and the plants as if they’re a part of your family circle.
- Experience local food: Go to the farmer’s market, learn about what’s in season, and cook together!
- Trash experiment: How much trash do you create in a week? Challenge yourselves to keep it in the smallest container possible! Use this to talk about recycling and lower-waste swaps.
- Encourage curiosity in your kids and be curious yourself!
For Young Adults and Adults (Larger Topics to Explore)
Food
- Support local food systems through farmer’s markets, smaller stores
- When buying animal products, research responsible practices and producers.
Travel
- Reflect on your transportation. Are there opportunities to use buses, trains, ferries, or carpools?
- Reflect on your yearly flights. Is it possible to minimize or cut back on flights?
Fashion
- When possible, buy secondhand!
- Avoid mass-produced, fast fashion, especially from large companies.
- Research and support ethical clothing brands. Consider where the clothing is produced, the equity of the labor involved, and the growing practices for materials.
Household
- Take stock of waste. What produces the most trash? Are there ways to cut back?
- Look for low-waste swaps for common household items with recyclable or refillable packaging!
- Start composting: Look for a local compost service or do it yourself!
- Keep energy usage low: turn off lights when not in use, especially outside lights at night! Swap out lightbulbs for energy-efficient options. If possible, install solar panels!
- Consider a heat pump for heating and cooling your home, especially if you have solar panels.
- Opt for a natural lawn. Skip the chemicals, especially those harmful to nature and humans alike! Consider using plants native to your area - they will provide food and shelter for local birds, insects, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Resources for Learning
Books
- Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
- The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson
- Regeneration by Paul Hawken (as well as the older edition of his work, Drawdown)
- What If We Get It Right? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
- All We Can Save (edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Katharine K. Wilkinson)
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth
- The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg
Film / Videos
- David Attenborough’s Work
- Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World (BBC)
- Rob Davies: Climate Change Science Essentials (vimeo)
- Timothée Parrique: Slow down or perish. The economics of degrowth (Youtube)
News and Organizations
- NYTimes (Climate Newsletter!) / Washington Post / The Guardian
- National and Local Outdoor Organizations like National Parks, AMC, Audubon
Other Resources To Explore
- Grassroots Conservation (Minus the Grass) A story map article about native pollinator gardens.
“Respect one another, support one another, bring your gift to the world and receive the gifts of others, and there will be enough for all.”
~Robin Wall Kimmerer