Learning things, doing something good and taking a step in the right direction is something my family and I try to work with as best we can. No one is perfect so drop that right away! Climate anxiety will "eat you up" if your demand on yourself is to be perfect.
Besides, even if you and your family become self-sufficient farmers without a car, not that many will follow in such an extreme lifestyle. No, my philosophy is that we all have to try to do as well as we can within reasonable limits. We must also learn to accept that all problems do not lie on our shoulders.
We must have some kind of trust that decision-makers are doing their job and solving the big issues that lie on their table. We can only work on what we can actually do something about and just learning more and reading up so that we can make the best possible choices, I would still say is an important thing.
Another is to occasionally engage in some volunteer work or at least things that do good and may not have the primary goal of being a pleasure or something you earn money from.
Here I thought I'd tell you a little about such a day. Our family spent a day volunteering and planting trees for the Foresta Foundation, a private non-profit organization registered in the Canary Islands Registry of Foundations since 1998. The organization works to recover, maintain and preserve the forest stands in the Canary Islands.
They work through reforestation of historically deforested forest stands, and to stop the serious process of desertification and erosion affecting the islands, and restore and improve the exceptional Canarian environmental and cultural heritage.
Early one morning we headed to El Pajar, a small village at high altitude. Here we met a group of happy volunteers from all over the world. Another nice thing about days like this is that you get to know so many other wise and committed people. This fine day it was a crowd of children, young people and pensioners who together hiked a little further up into the mountains.
Just a few years ago, the Foresta Foundation watered new plants 5 months a year for two years before the plant became viable and could fend for itself. Now the plants need to be watered 12 months a year for two years before they can fend for themselves. Climate change is what makes this necessary.
The right kind of tree is also important. We planted a tree that has almost become extinct due to logging; the wood has been needed for construction and carpentry. Another tree is planted because it binds a lot of water and burns poorly, it protects the forest in the event of a forest fire. The third was a small avocado tree.
A nice day with lots of laughter, camaraderie and a wonderful view. It is with great gratitude that I think back on this day, not only because we were given the opportunity to participate but also because so many people learned so much. So many children go home and tell their classmates about the importance of reforestation.
Of course, I am also grateful for the fine work that Foresta Foundation, Oceans4Life and Surf Canarias do, thank you for letting us join you 🙂