I'm Greener than a Frog

... According to my 8 year old son.This shocked me when he said this to a stranger the other day. First of all I didn't think he really understood what it meant to be "green" and I didn't realize he knew there was anything different than the way our home operates day-to-day.

But it was a beautiful realization.
I forget about all of the things we do "differently" than much of America because of our focus on low consumption, low waste. Not to mention the hundreds of other small things we do to make your footprint smaller. And you don't have to suffer to do it.

So the kids are getting it.
They don't think about it or suffer for it either. They fully embrace it and even remind strangers about it. We don't demand that they do things a certain way but because we naturally model appropriate environmental responsibility, it surrounds them.

It is SO cool to see my children pretending to have a recycling center. They do this frequently. They build it with their toys and drive trucks full of legos or whatever and bring it to their center. They sort it, crush it, melt it -- whatever to create "new" products at the end of the line.

And that's just one of the many things they do that is so cool. Maybe they'll be greener than frogs one day too.

Resources

If you have not yet noticed, I have added a list of links of local and national resources for Earth care. Far from a comprehensive list, these are a few of the links and organizations that I check in with frequently. I will most certainly add and subtract as time passes.

I could write a post on each of them but I barely have time to post the links themselves. So, I encourage you to thoroughly investigate them. Comment on them. Suggest others. Hopefully there will be something there that inspires you to action, lets your family flourish in local activism and grow together for a common cause.

Please let me know if they help!

A little more lively

This has been a hard week. I needed a change.
I like the look of this template. It's more lively, and I need that right now.

I have so much to post but not enough brain power or time to do it.
If you have suggestions or things to say on my topics, please post them.

Some days

When you love your children and the Earth, some days disappoint you. You frequently feel like you are failing the world when you spend time with the family and "neglect" the needs of the planet; and you feel like you're failing your family when you focus on the Earth. It is a tough but exceptionally important balance.

The family is looking at you, needing you, demanding your attention -- their needs are tangible, their wants vocalized. So you provide them with the love, time and support that they crave.

But for Mother Earth, her cries go seemingly unnoticed, her needs are neglected and her body scarred by our existence. 

But who is to pay the price for our deaf ears and inaction toward her needs? -- our children and their children and so on.

BUT WAIT:

The family is not the enemy -- it is the inspiration.

The enemy is what we DON'T do with our simple daily actions that can unite these seemingly opposing entities.

By making some very simple changes you can benefit Mother Earth and her future guardians. 

Things like:

• Taking a walk through the woods with your children (take a shopping bag and gather litter you find along the way. Then dispose of it correctly.)

• Develop a composting area or bin at home and let the kids contribute to it and watch the changes together.

• Recycle EVERYTHING. When you start while they are young, kids think nothing of it. Yet when they see someone else NOT recycling, they call them on it. My kids LOVE to help take things to the local recycling center. (Thank you Hamilton County)

• Walk and bike. It promotes physical activity (which we all need) and reduces energy use. It also allows you great time to connect with one another.

• Discover the wildlife and plants in your backyard together. Encourage photography, sketching writing, journaling, anything that allows your child to absorb the details of their world and then express it with creativity and passion.

• Choose to walk to a local park for fun time instead of driving twenty minutes to an arcade.

• Plant more trees and flowers. This reduces your mowing responsibilities and kids LOVE to dig.

• Reuse EVERYTHING. Find new uses for everything if you can. Challenge yourself and your family to find a use for something before you recycle it. Boxes are great playgrounds, costumes or space ships. Many things can be great material for crafts and art projects.

• Adopt an environmental cause, and as a family, contribute time and energy.

• Ask your kids their opinion. Compare products and activities against an environmental yardstick and then have them make the choice. They're smarter than you think.

• Talk to them. Talk to them about your choices as a parent and environmentalist. Tell them why you refuse to eat meat or won't shop at a particular store. Answer their questions and encourage them to make educated choices about their lives and actions.

• Above all else, listen to them. For what may seem like totally illogical beings, I am amazed by the clarity and brilliance of my children when it comes to making the right decisions.

No one says you have to do all of these at once. By integrating these or other ideas you can involve your whole family. These simple acts will enrich your family time, benefit Mother Earth and help you not feel like you are failing in either path. And in the long run you are developing young guardians that will carry these basic tasks into their adulthood and future families.

It is SO hard to feel like your actions don't matter in the scheme of things and that you will fight those Mother Earth battles "Some Day." But for now, when your energies require a personal touch, simple actions like these can make a big difference. And when the day comes for the big Mother Earth battles, your persistence and creativity will pay off with your family at your side.

The children are the inspiration and the direct beneficiaries of your daily actions. Let them help you make the changes you wish to see in the world. They will love you for it later.

Where Parenting and Ecology Unify

Welcome to my first blog. I want to use the forum to encourage Hoosiers and transplants to Indiana to take up the causes of conservation, preservation and protection of the environment. These causes are dear to my heart for they are about my children and everyone else's children.

How ecologically responsible we are today means the world to them tomorrow. In conjunction, how we parent grounds our families today and influences a kinder generation for the future -- focusing less on consuming and material existence and more on a respectful coexistence with others and the Earth.I look forward to a dialog that helps make the future better for all who come after us.