“What we imagine, we can become.”
– Robin Wall Kimmerer
As parents, it can be hard to find the time, energy, or imagination to act on climate while raising kids and juggling adult responsibilities. We can also get discouraged, wondering if anything we do around sustainability will just be a drop in the bucket when faced with global, systemic inaction.
If you have felt this way, you are definitely not alone. But we owe it to our kids to take that one step, to embrace progress not perfection, and to start talking openly with them and each other about our changing climate.
Inspired by our January 11, 2025 “New Year, New Use” event with The Contemporary Austin, here are a few ideas to get us thinking about the change we can help bring about this year for our kids’ sake, and to start envisioning the future we want them to inherit:
Write a climate resolution. Choose a doable, meaningful goal.
- Get connected. Subscribe to The Parents’ Climate Community calendar or sign up for our newsletter for year-round ideas on local, family-friendly education, events and advocacy.
- Get talking. Make a plan to talk with your kids about climate change.
- Start a climate café with friends or coworkers.
- Serve as a family. Find opportunities to volunteer together model civic engagement with little kids. For example, commit to join a Festival Beach Food Forest workday this spring.
- Take a look at your finances. Switch from a big bank to a credit onion. Make sure that your investments are not supporting new fossil fuels.
- Decarbonize at home. Rewiring America makes going electric easy.
- Take action at work. Get started with the free Hurd app.
- Set attainable goals. Maybe biking or taking transit to school or work isn’t feasible every day. But can you commit to replacing one essential trip each week with a bike ride, bus trip, or carpool?
Need more guidance on you can best contribute? Try this climate-action quiz or fill out a “climate action venn diagram.”
Create a vision board or nature collage. This activity doubles as a soothing, restorative exercise, and can be a great springboard for writing a climate resolution. Here are a few prompts you can explore on your own or with kids.
Get inspired. Read a book that sparks your imagination, like The Climate Optimist’s Handbook or From What Is to What If?, or theirs, like Sofia Valdez, Future Prez, Pedal Power, or Rebel Girls Climate Warriors.
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash