#start with your community
Look. There’s a creek near where I live that has its own volunteer non-profit organization.
It’s just one creek. One trickle of water among millions. But people decided to care about that creek. A bunch of people, volunteers, got together and they cleaned several tons of trash out of the creek.
They got to work removing non-native plants from the creek banks and planting native trees.
They got a nearby water treatment plant to upgrade and stop polluting the creek.
They educate people and tell them about the fish and invertebrates that live in creeks and why they should care.
I think that it matters. I think that making sure your community has clean water matters. I think making sure one specific old lady’s house doesn’t flood matters. I think one stream where fish can live again matters. I think one patch of green space in a downtown area matters. If nothing else, it makes people’s lives less shitty, and that’s worthwhile in itself.
Stop asking “how do I save the world?” Start asking “can I get together several people to clean up that creek downtown?”
