You Take Care Of The Things You Love

“You take care of the things you love.”

This is a foundational belief in our family in regards to stewarding. How we steward our relationships, our resources, and our planet.

I’m at times disheartened to see how environmentalism is taught to our young kids. Picket lines, heated discussions, catastrophic scenarios, etc. I read an idea recently that said “No tragedy before grade 4.” and depending on the kid I may even push it further. It can lead to such a sense of hopelessness in our youth when they are met with such large scale problems so young.

Instead, our goal is for our children to LOVE nature. We want them to be in nature as much as possible. To develop a sense of place in their local environment. To travel and experience a wide range of geography, flora, fauna and wildlife. We want them to see the interconnectedness of every living thing, to see their place in it all.

There’s a time and a place for lobbying and fighting for something. Of course. I just think at times we have it a bit backwards. We want our kids to fight for something they have no connection to. What if instead we built the connection first? What if we made sure our kids had ample opportunity to fall in love with nature and then trusted them to take care of the things they love?