Renewing a Sense of Thankfulness

Tis the season to renew a sense of thankfulness. How? When all is not right with my world, I dig in the dirt. For, it is the experience of connecting with living green in which I find solace, reduce the effect of life stress; and in fact, on occasion, not only contribute aesthetic beauty but harvest edible bounty. So, considering these benefits, why not focus on renewal of thankfulness?

recover a sense of thankfulness through 'digging in the dirt' 

 

To explore this question, in my book – Eco-legacy, a millennium woman’s heritage, I considered the impact of people, places and events which influenced my perspective of CARE, a commitment of conservation, accountability, accountability and eco-efficiency. Still, a question remained ‘are there factors which once identified, can be used to enable a perspective of 'dig in the dirt' in community as well as individual ‘home and gardens’?

A few years ago, Richard Louv of the children’s nature network estimated 1/3 of nation-wide home landscapes – specifically backyard spaces are household dumping grounds, 1/3 are maintained similar to as supplied by the initial builder; and 1/3 or less is used for family outdoor activities – active recreation and/or landscape gardening. To verify Louv’s prediction, I compared his statistics to my surrounding neighborhood and found it somewhat accurate. Yet, in spike of warnings by such people as Louv, it appears individually and as communities, landscapes continue to decline. So, how do we recover the CARE – a sense of THANKFULNESS - in our Nation’s landscapes?

Since they say it is easier to educate a child than, shift ingrained patterns of adult behavior, perhaps eco education of children should become the priority. As a child, I recall walking in the shadow of not one but numerous adult role models, agri-minded relatives who similarly ‘dig in the dirt’ on a daily basis. An Industry colleague Jeff Minnich also credits an elderly neighbor for his childhood experiences which inspired a fascination with interacting with ‘living green’.

So, can we not individually and collectively make an effort to influence eco education for children, enable their ability to dig in the dirt, acquire a sense of THANKFULNESS for the ‘green that surrounds’ them. And, perhaps child by child we invest in the recovery of ‘CARE’ as it relates to the concept of home and garden. Create landscape gardens of conservation, accountability, recovery and eco-efficiency. For, additional ideas and strategies, visit web site www.TheWrightScoop.com.

#eco #education #Louv #Minnich