I Started an Eco-Club for Kids and it Changed My Life.

It was 2015. I had begun the year depressed about the environment. I couldn't take any more news articles on the declining climate crisis, and was constantly inundated with infographic memes of how we're trashing our world. During my doom-scrolling one day, I came across a link to a Climate Reality Project training by the one and only, Nobel Laureate Al Gore, which was coming to my area, and a link to an application. I decided enough was enough, I felt pushed to take action.

The training was in July of 2015, and as I walked through the doors of the training amongst 600 people from all over the world, I felt like I'd won the lottery to be there, and a calling was taking shape within me. The tectonic plates of my life were shifting under foot, and as I devoured every ounce of those two full days of learning, I felt eager to head back to my community and turn this doom and gloom into positive action.

The Little Sprouts Eco-Club Was Born.

How was I going to create change in my community? I realized as a mom of two young ones myself, I wanted to begin at the beginning. If most of us were lost in our bad earth-killing-single-use-consuming bad habits, I was going to go to the habitless among us, and mold them into better stewards than the rest of us, creating a sustainable world for us all. It seemed like a daunting task, yet I had this unexplainable drive and energy that kept pushing me forward.

The group began small, with only 11 children attending the first outing. Mostly made up of three and four year olds, they learned about conserving water and were eager the share their stories of how they saved water at home. Very quickly the group took off and five years later we have grown to over 500 group members and between 50 and 100 children attending our monthly outings. The kids that began as preschoolers are now in double digits and are impressing me every day with their commitments to save the Earth. The kids love to create nature crafts and spend time in the garden with their pruning scissors and plant-identifying apps. Some memorable outings have included snowshoeing, visiting a local wildlife sanctuary, art in the forest with a local artist, berry picking, a recycling plant tour and identifying bugs on the bottom of the lake.

A Pair of Scissors for Every Outing

Since the eco-club is so vast in what they learn about, there are endless tools in our crafty-tool box that we need to bring along with us. From pruning, to nature crafts, to baking, and repairing clothing, the group has learned a lot of skills over the five years, and as we continue to grow, so does our trusty tool box of supplies. At our Repair Cafe outing for example, the kids learned how to fix up their broken items - from jewelry, to pants to old toys that no longer work. The kids are learning there's a pair of scissors for every outing, and when equipped with the right tools, the sky is the limit on what they can create (and save) right in their own backyards.

Future Stewards and Earth Warriors Unite!

I have hope for the future now when I look at the little faces that attend my group outings each month. They are eager to learn and take an active role in saving our planet. With each outing, the children become a little more brave, a little more creative and a lot more hopeful too. The future looks bright with these children at the helm.