Can I make a difference?

What’s going on with planet Earth is so out of reach of my control, that I’m left feeling helpless most days.

I grew up playing in the national parks my dad worked in. I made my own career in environmental education for decades. I raised my kids to care for nature. I write novels about people who care for the natural world. I garden, recycle and care for my home with the environment in mind. Of course I vote with these things in mind.

Yet these days, it’s not enough. I’m struggling to find a way to make a difference. To feel like I can make a difference.

Pretty pictures on Pinterest won’t help, though I’m still doing that, and starting to speak my mind in posts like this. I’m joining with another neighbor to try to convince our homeowners’ board to be more green. But it’s discouraging that before we can meet, the lawn company has sprayed pesticides.

I’m proud of my nephew and niece, both new homeowners this year. They are gardening with nature in mind. Right now it seems the best I can do is support these efforts of the next generation. Send them books that teach permaculture, and raise a stock of bare-root native trees and shrubs that I can gift to them. (Thankfully, they are within 4 hours’ drive.)

On Facebook, I came across this opinion article from The New York Times: Surviving Despair in the Great Extinction The author, Margaret Renkl, sums up my feelings quite well: I’m sad, but I must to keep doing something.

How about you, my followers and readers? What are you feeling? What are you doing? Who is on the same path with you?

I’m curious, because I’m also tired of feeling alone, though I’m sure I’m not.