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Ep.118 Parenting in the Climate Crisis with Bridget Shirvell
47 Plays4 days ago
Parenting in today’s world can feel like walking a tightrope—how do we prepare our kids for a planet facing so much change without scaring or overwhelming them? In this conversation with journalist and author Bridget Shirvell, we discuss the art of raising children who feel connected to nature, empowered to problem-solve, and resilient in the face of the climate crisis.
Bridget shares insights from her book Parenting in a Climate Crisis: A Handbook for Turning Fear Into Action, along with practical ways families can nurture curiosity, confidence, and deep kinship with the natural world.
We also talk about how these lessons aren’t just for kids.
Topics Covered about Parenting in a Climate Crisis
➡️ How to raise resilient, curious kids in a rapidly changing climate.
➡️ Practical tips for connecting children (and parents) to nature every day.
➡️ Why learning from other kin—plants, animals, fungi—shapes deeper listening and problem-solving.
➡️ How parenting for the planet teaches adults as much as it teaches kids.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
08:10 Rethinking personal-care habits & consumption
16:15 Glass vs Plastic: truth about packaging and recycling
19:42 Fairphone
24:30 Product redesign: aluminum tubes & zero-waste swaps
32:45 Consumer power: influencing supply chains for change
41:00 Hidden health risks: EMF, toxins & bathroom air quality
57:40 Daily green-bathroom rituals & mindset shifts
65:00 Closing reflections
Resources Mentioned
🌱 Naturally Conscious Community
🌱 Plant Wisdom Book Club and Sprouts Writing and Creativity Group
Expanded Show Notes
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Transcript
Introduction & Episode Overview
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Reconnect with Plant Wisdom. It's me, Tigre Gardenia. ah had so much fun with this episode, way more fun than I thought i was going to have. So i when i met Bridget, Bridget Chevelle, when I met her, we kind of got into this little conversation. We went down a tiny little, one of those little rabbit holes that you're like, wow, I wonder what would happen if we went down this for the podcast.
00:00:29
Speaker
And that's exactly what happened. The world is changing so fast and our children cannot be shielded from it, nor should they be, because this is their world too. This is their planet too.
00:00:42
Speaker
And so I really love the approach that Bridget Chevelle has taken for how it is to talk to children and to help children navigate the complex climate and, you know, world ecology that we're living in in this present moment. And I very much appreciate everything that she shared because it's not about personalization or telling you to do it and that this is better, but it's about opening up um our children's minds to the curiosity of what can be done differently, the problem-solving skills, the recognition and all these different aspects.
Parenting in the Climate Crisis
00:01:19
Speaker
So I'm very, very, very excited to share with you episode 118, which is Parenting in the Climate Crisis with Bridget Chervell.
00:01:29
Speaker
Enjoy.
00:01:32
Speaker
Welcome to Reconnect with Plant Wisdom. I'm your host Tigria Gardenia, nature-inspired mentor, certified life coach, and the founder of the Naturally Conscious Community. For over a decade, I've been known as a world ambassador for plant advocacy, working closely with plants to share their practical wisdom to help you consciously embody the elements of life that nourish your evolution.
00:01:53
Speaker
In this podcast, I delve into ancient and modern knowledge from biology to spirituality about the wondrous ways of plants. Together, we'll explore how ecosystem thinking helps you overcome limiting beliefs, understand the true nature of relationships, and live an authentic, impactful life.
00:02:15
Speaker
All right, Bridget, I am. um I have to admit that when I contacted you, I was like, is this going to work? Is this going to work? Then when we started talking, I was like, oh, my goodness, this is going to be such an interesting episode, very different from many of the ones that I've done.
00:02:28
Speaker
So in order to kind of kick us off and help people understand why I think this is going to be so special, can you tell everybody who is Bridget? Sure. So I'm a mom of a six-year-old girl, which is important because I have spent the past four years kind of focused on how parents and grandparents and really anybody who has young kids in their lives navigate the climate crisis.
00:02:56
Speaker
And a lot of that focus has come back to nature. And I think what we started talking about was just kind of like plants and trees. And i from a young age, started my child to start thinking about her relationship with trees and seeing them as kind of part of her like world instead of very separate from her, which is kind of what drew me to this podcast.
00:03:20
Speaker
Nice. I love
Bridget's Book & Its Foundations
00:03:22
Speaker
it. and And I think that this is a really interesting topic because you wrote a book all about parenting specifically in the climate crisis. And of course, it's a heavy topic. And you know, parents don't know how to introduce...
00:03:35
Speaker
What even, not even how, but I would say that the first question is what to introduce? Like, what is the the most important thing that a parent needs to think about? Because you don't want to tell your kid, hey, by the way, we're going to leave you a terrible planet and you've got to deal with it.
00:03:51
Speaker
Like, I don't think that that's very useful. And you also don't want to scare them and tell them, look, everybody who uses plastic is a jerk and, ah you know, stay away from them. Like that doesn't work either. So what was the impetus? Like where, where did you come from and what were you really, what is the message that you wanted to, or what are the things that you wanted to share in this book?
00:04:11
Speaker
So I really, like I kind of wrote this book for me. Like it was like the book that I was looking for and couldn't find. um I've been ah journalist for my entire professional career and I was very focused on food systems reporting reporting.
00:04:27
Speaker
After I had my kid, so I was already aware of like, I guess how the climate crisis is affecting the food we eat. um But after i had my kid, I was kind of like, okay, but what skills is she going to need? I wasn't so much worried about how to talk to her about the climate crisis. I think just because I'm a communicator by nature, but I was very much like, okay.
00:04:50
Speaker
but how do I like raise her so that she's going to be able to live in this world that she's going to inherit no matter what we do currently, no matter what like the future holds? What do those skills look like?
00:05:01
Speaker
And so that really became like the basis for the book. And it's a lot of talking to experts, but all of the experts I talk to all have kids in their lives.
00:05:12
Speaker
um So if I'm talking to a climatologist, I'm not just talking with to them about the science behind climate change I'm talking to them about, oh, well, like, how do you get outside with naep in nature when your kids are really little and it feels kind of like impossible to be lugging all of this stuff? Or what type of food do you eat? Like, what does your diet look like in your own household? um And so I really hope that, you know, anybody who reads this book kind of takes away the idea that there are things that they can do, that this is a big, like scary issue, but there are things that we can all do in our like everyday lives that are kind of going to start to drive systematic change, which is what we need, but also are just going to allow you to help your kids thrive in whatever type of world they live in.
Fostering Children's Connection to Nature
00:06:00
Speaker
Yeah, and I think it's it's interesting because um I have ah one of my clients who also wrote a children's book connected to, in this particular case, the music of the plants and plants. And her intention was also the same thing. you know the How is it that you help bring a relationship with nature, a relationship with plants so that the child remembers and continues to reinforce the fact that you know i am nature and that this this work is something This relationship is something that should continue on instead of that separation that kind of naturally happens.
00:06:35
Speaker
But what I find really interesting is that, you know, to a certain extent, we don't know what this what you know your child is going to have in the future because we don't really know what's happening. And we also have to imagine that as as they enter into young adulthood,
00:06:51
Speaker
you know, the climate is going to be different. So um everything is going to be changing. So how, I guess I'm curious as to what do you think are the essential elements of a relationship with nature? In particular, you chose trees to work with ah um ideally and in initially.
00:07:11
Speaker
What do you think is important for, you know, that relationship to have, to hold, that children should keep with them and that should continue to practice with?
00:07:23
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's really like unstructured outside time, like every day. It doesn't have to be a ton of outside time. It could be five minutes, right? It could be like five minutes in your backyard. Maybe you take,
00:07:36
Speaker
um your like morning breakfast outside to eat. Um, or it's just like taking a little walk around your neighborhood. If you don't like have a backyard, um, and kind of thinking about the trees or the plants bees, birds that you see.
00:07:50
Speaker
But think we really, if you're not, if your kids aren't outside in nature on a regular basis, they don't, they're not going to want to protect it because they're not going to understand it. Um, so I think it's setting that from a very young age and just like continuing to do it as they grow, which of course gets harder once they're in school and there's all these different like attentions pulling at them. But I think you can really like figure out a way to do it just for a few minutes a day. And one of the things that sort of struck me the more I talked to the experts in my book was that for a lot of them, they felt like, um,
00:08:30
Speaker
like having their own kids when they were little, like helped them reconnect with nature, right? Like helped them be like, oh yeah, this is what we're fighting for because this is my kid, like seeing, being awed at the puddle and like the ability to jump in it or, you know, all of these things that so we just kind of like forget about as we get older. Yeah.
00:08:49
Speaker
Yeah. And especially because there's this, you know, fantastic research around the fact that as adults, we think of nature in its, in its big sense, like I've got to go out to, you know, the, the, out to the woods, I have to get out of the city, i have to do all these types of things when children really see nature and the awe and the wonder of the mirror back and forth between myself and these other types of beings in the smallest little things, right? The the blade of grass growing through the sidewalk, the ant walking across, you know, the lawn that's there with all the different elements. And I wonder how much you were able to put into the book
00:09:30
Speaker
that this is not just about like learn these things to do for your children, but also learn these things so that you also can learn from your children.
00:09:42
Speaker
Right? Yeah, i hope that that is something that people really take away when they look like through the book that like, yes, there are lessons for your kids and how, you know, you can incorporate more environmental advocacy like as they're growing up, but it's also just like a way for parents to get involved themselves, um both with and learn from their kids. There's a whole chapter on um stem cells in schools. And one of the reasons why i that was really important to me is because so much of that learning philosophy is based around the idea that
00:10:17
Speaker
like The teacher isn't just a teacher. They're also learning from the kids themselves. like It's really much this idea of like we're all learning from each other and there's no right answer, but we're gonna these are the skills that we need to figure out this problem.
00:10:34
Speaker
So I'm going to ask a very strange question. Bear with me for a second. So I was just at the time that we're recording this last week, I did a conference and it was sponsored by the plant initiative. The plant initiative is an organization that technically it comes out of the academic system, you know, connected to um different universities And such.
00:10:56
Speaker
And yet this particular event was all about plant communicators. And so we were all these different plant communicators. And as I was listening to all of us, you know, myself and then to the others present their, their, um their talks.
00:11:09
Speaker
I found it really empowering and curious that, you know, some of these people were, had worked in university settings, maybe in the schools of divinity or theology or some other aspect.
00:11:25
Speaker
I know that there are some plant communicators that are in more creative arts and that are doing things connected to, um, performance and plant communication. And then there's like,
00:11:36
Speaker
also the whole anthropology section and such. And yet there are some that are straight up like touch the tree, get a signal, you know, something you'd experience in the new age store type of perspective. And I found it beautifully fascinating because it was this wide, wide range of people that came from engineering disciplines to all the way to just, you know, spiritual people that had developed this as part of their path.
00:12:02
Speaker
When you were writing the book, where did the aspects of deep, deep connection to nature at some point pass over what can be scientifically proven, right? If you're going to really connect, there is a part of just straight up to a certain extent, faith, like belief in yourself and what you're feeling and what you're experiencing and such science, in my opinion, will eventually catch up to us. I am convinced that everything that we're feeling has a scientific basis to it.
00:12:31
Speaker
But in some cases, we're just not there yet. Like we don't know how to measure those senses. We don't know how to understand what the plants are signaling to us and all these types of things. when you were as you're thinking about this with your own child, and obviously in the book writing towards other children, how did you deal with that kind of line between, you know, wanting to stay in the factual world, and at the same time, trying to keep that awe and wonder, which is also scientifically proven, but not so easy to describe.
00:12:59
Speaker
So I wrote most of the book when we spent a summer in the Lake District in England. and so there's a whole chapter on animals, right? And if connecting with animals from a young age can help you be more of an environmental steward.
00:13:14
Speaker
And so ice start the chapter very sharing my own personal experience, right, of watching my kid on this farm surrounded by alpacas and she's feeding the alpacas.
00:13:26
Speaker
um It was like so blissful and such a fun thing to see, but I'm not really sure if the science is there that, oh, this experience is gonna like turn her into somebody who respects the environment. I think it is because I think that those experiences all like help you and help you connect with the planet around you, but the science isn't quite there yet.
00:13:49
Speaker
So throughout the book, it's sort of a mix of, you know, expert interviews, scientific studies, but also just my own personal experiences and kind of the note of like, we don't actually know the science isn't there yet, but this is what people think. um There was a child psychologist that ae spoke to a lot and she focused on the idea of that kids who grow up with pets in the house, um depending of course on how the pets are treated, right? Cause that's a whole wide range, but the pets are treated very much like a part of the family.
00:14:25
Speaker
that that can help kids develop um the idea of like being nurturing in general um and taking care of the planet, other people. But until very recently, there wasn't a lot of data about that because it wasn't even a thing that pediatricians wouldn't ask you if you had a pet in your house. Now I think they mostly all
Nature's Role in Climate Adaptation
00:14:45
Speaker
do. But like years ago, we just didn't know. We didn't know how many people like had young kids and pets. So there wasn't really a baseline to kind of compare it.
00:14:55
Speaker
So sometimes it's just that we are slowly catching up to the reality of people's lives. Yeah. And I think that that's what is interesting about all of this. It's somewhat, I mean, ah it's all experimentation, which even just that is a really positive thing when we're talking about, you know, the types of traits to instill the idea of stay curious, the idea of open yourself to new experiences, the idea of the fact that your connection to nature takes many different forms because as a being of nature, we as humans have developed this language thing and we have certain kinds of gesturing and we have certain ways that our faces and our mouths and our everything moves.
00:15:38
Speaker
But again, looking at the family dog or the family cat, those expressions are very different and and still very, very valid. And then when you go farther away from, you know, the species, the animal species into plants and maybe fungi species,
00:15:53
Speaker
And trying to say, look, all of these species are also communicating in their own way and expressing themselves in their own way. And you, it's up to you, dear beautiful child, to all adults, by the way, for you to develop what is the mechanism, how do you interpret?
00:16:11
Speaker
And how do you come into contact with whatever that communication is? Like, is it a feeling? Is it something you feel in your skin? Is it something you feel in your body? Is it something that you feel?
00:16:22
Speaker
you know, interpret from the way that the colors are and the shapes are like, all of it is fine. It doesn't really actually matter because the important part is that you're taking into consideration this other beings needs and other beings experiences.
00:16:36
Speaker
And I think that that's probably the most important part. Especially because I mean, if we really think about it, this connection to nature not is not only I'm sure that probably the the primary thing that comes to mind is the idea of like us as human beings being really good stewards.
00:16:52
Speaker
But honestly, the answers to how to adapt, change, deal with work with potentially backtrack in some cases when possible. climate change is actually in the natural world anyway, because it's only kin that have survived it.
00:17:10
Speaker
Like we haven't, we haven't been able to get there. So, so anything that allows our children to get a head start, that's like, Hey, you see that plan over there, go sit. It's whatever you receive, because that whatever you might receive might be the breakthrough that we need in the future for us to, i don't know, adapt our own skin to not feel so hot or some other type of thing that is going to happen.
00:17:35
Speaker
did do you find, did does the book, and and maybe I'm just giving you a part two, the workbook. Like, did you include activities for parents to do with their children? or is that something you've contemplated?
Age-Specific Activities for Environmental Consciousness
00:17:49
Speaker
Yeah. So not, I mean, not every chapter, but most chapters, it's kind of like broken down by age of like, so for instance, like ways to get outside in nature, depending on your kid's age or um like things you can do when you're like shopping at the supermarket or like, like those kinds of things to start them to think about like the food that they eat or, you know, ideas for practicing problem solving skills.
00:18:17
Speaker
Yeah. Because I think that I really much wanted the book to be that you could pick it up and come back to it and be like, okay, like I'm really into like the nature aspect of it right now. Like that's the chapter I'm going to focus on. Or like, hey, my kid is starting like in the school system for the first time. So I'm going to read the chapter about education to see like what that is. Like all of the chapters kind of build on each other, but it's also very much designed that you could like pick and choose.
00:18:46
Speaker
Yeah. And I have to say this, this is anecdotal completely, but lately, um so obviously I get to meet tons and tons of different people. And it's really interesting to hear their backstories and to understand how they've gotten to where they are, especially because of course, many of them have pivot stories, you know, where I was in this phase and then I reconnected with nature and this is what happened. Of course, there's a lot of that going on, but it's really interesting to see For example, I was just talking to somebody who's going to be in a future episode. So keep an eye out for that for everybody who's listening and watching.
00:19:19
Speaker
But I was really touched by the way he was describing that he grew up. um He's Canadian, grew up in Canada. And he was telling us, he was telling me in the pre-interview how he um grew up on a farm, like his grandparents and his parents had a farm and such. And he says,
00:19:36
Speaker
It wasn't until way later in life that he realized that for him, things that were absolutely normal and that were about that relationship with, you know, the animals and the food. And like you said, all these different perspectives, like plants as friends and then food and animals as friends and then food and a whole series of relationships that for him or ah are precious. Like they they are he's like, he it didn't dawn on him that they weren't normal. Like he didn't, they didn't dawn on him that most people people don't understand and have that type of relationing.
00:20:09
Speaker
So as he grew up as an adult and had a whole series of different situations, that that piece kept kind of anchoring him back. And he works now with mushrooms and cybacillin and other things, but he's he's always anchored by that relationship. And he says, when I look back, even in a lot of the aspects of my life, like there was still that root that that always ensured that there was a I don't know how to describe it, a consideration of others, regardless of whether that other was human or, or any other.
00:20:43
Speaker
And I have another client of mine who I love because she's, um she is somebody who is being very, very, very ah conscious of her two grandchildren of like making sure that she ah exposes them or or not exposes them.
00:21:01
Speaker
I like give them the space to grow up in a very deep connection with nature. So you know, in their land, she takes outside and whenever she's doing something, but she also not just shares what she's doing, but she shares the the relationship she herself has with all the different plants like here are the Douglas furs that don't like me very much, but really much love your grandfather because they are, um we made a pact.
00:21:24
Speaker
That says, you know, I won't hate on you if you won't hate on me because we just really love your husband. Or, you know, the moonflower that she does pull off because being a parasite, you know, takes over, but that the conversation that they have while they're doing it.
00:21:40
Speaker
So now the little kids, you know, who are very small under five years old. you know, are are actually under probably, I think three, they um they have these conversations. So when they come back to her, there's an educated relationship of like, oh, over here, we're going to go forage over this because we've had conversations and it's okay to pick from here. And over here instead, we're not going to do it because these mushrooms need to grow because they've told us that it's ah like, there's this kind of mix between their intuitiveness and their relationship and also a deep listening that's starting to grow from them.
00:22:15
Speaker
And i i I really do seeing now all the adults that I've heard from, i feel like That there is, there are all the direct nature skills, but then I think, as you said, there are all the other skills that we hope for adults to have deep, deep listening, um the ability to be present in what's happening.
00:22:37
Speaker
Also, looking at cues that are or experiencing receiving cues that are not just necessarily what the words that this person says, but that are, you know, going beyond the surface, because they've had this relationship with other kin, that they've had to learn how to receive and interpret and such, which I don't think, you know, it's not about like you said, teaching, it's about exposure, spend a lot of time, give them the space, encourage them to go have if they come back and are like,
00:23:06
Speaker
that mushroom said to me, you say, yes, they did. What did they say to you? You know, in order to do that, do you find that too, that that was one of the like threads that came out? Yeah. And I think it's really this idea, right, of being like flexible and how, especially like in nature of like, oh, okay, like you might want to like walk this way, but like these plants clearly don't want you to go like in that way. They're kind of like going over the like pathway or whatever. They're like telling you in their own way, like, hey, like this is our space right now.
00:23:41
Speaker
um And I think that you know translates into so many other things, like translates into like our interactions with humans and kind of how we build maybe more community than we currently have. We live in such like divisive times.
00:23:56
Speaker
But I think if you have this exposure of being out in nature, kind of listening, um that kind of deep thinking and flexible thinking, you can apply it to your interactions with other human beings
Community Building Through Nature
00:24:08
Speaker
as well. That hopefully grounds us a little more in community.
00:24:13
Speaker
I think that that's such an important piece of this that myself discovered it, you know, way forward, like way kind of down the path I was. Cause when I started working with plants really closely, of course there was the fascination. There was the whole, Oh my goodness. I don't, I didn't know that plants were communicating in this way. I didn't understand.
00:24:34
Speaker
I'm now looking at another being and saying, Oh my goodness, you're you know conscious. You're aware, you know, what's going on around you. You're aware of me. And then all of these different pieces. But then over time, I started to discover my own relationships with other people, other humans, as well as other beings start to change my relationship, even my relationships with dogs and cats. Like I was a I am a very big cat person, love cats, and not so much a dog person. But I think nowadays when I when i see dogs, for example, today I you know i was in a somebody's home and the dog came in and I was having a conversation with the dog that was just very different than what I would have done maybe 15 years ago where you know you kind of treat the dog a little bit.
00:25:20
Speaker
don't want to say a little stupid but because, well, but I think dogs are stupid. No, I'm just kidding. I'm ah But I'm just saying like, you know, I was in the dog had done something and I was looking at the dog going, you did this to yourself. And it was funny because I was talking in English and I live in Italy. So, but the, the dog just happens to have an English, like the, the couple, he, she's Italian and he's British.
00:25:42
Speaker
So I spoke in English. She's like, you know, he understands everything you're saying. I'm like, Oh no, no, I can tell. i can tell. he knows what I'm saying. And I was like, you did this to him so yourself you because he locked himself in a room. And I'm like, you locked yourself in this room. Now you're stuck here. And he just looked up like saying, ah you could tell he was thinking. He was like, how the hell am I going to get myself out of here? So it was like, had to rethink because it wasn't brute force, wasn't going to get him out of the room.
00:26:07
Speaker
But I realized that I'm much more... attuned, which honestly makes it also ah easier for me to be around children and even the elderly or people with other kinds of situations, because having learned or having or continuously learning how to attune myself to, you know, other kin makes it easier for me to enter into relationships with people who maybe are not, you know, nonverbal in whatever case that that is.
00:26:36
Speaker
And I think that these are great skills to give to children from a very early age without having to like teach them. Right, right. Yeah, I mean, like, you know, a lot of kids are right afraid of bees. Bees have been like a huge thing. And I like when my child sees a bee, I'm always like, it's not gonna like hurt you unless you like, bother it, like that it's gonna like, tell you you're too close to it.
00:27:02
Speaker
But also, like, we need the bees because they, you know, will give us food, they pollinate the flowers. And so now when my kid goes outside, she's like, oh, the bee told me it really likes those flowers and not those flowers. I'm like, oh, okay. Like you're less afraid now and you've developed this whole relationship with them.
00:27:22
Speaker
I love that. I think that that's such an important piece. And, and it's what we know is going to make a big difference, because that's what's going to, you know, prevent her from, I don't know, going off and buying things that she knows is going to hurt, you know, the bees or, or, you know, making those types of moves. It's, it's incredible to me to see that disconnection that happens.
00:27:43
Speaker
Do you find did you find any? um I guess, um What has been parents' reaction? Like, do you feel like you feel like parents are starting? Because you have to remember, parents themselves are disconnected, right? So here they are trying to keep their child connected to a world that they themselves are disconnected to. I guess maybe that's my question.
00:28:04
Speaker
My question is, how do you feel... how do we get into how do we get in touch with the parents? How do we get the parents to understand the importance? I mean, i can I can imagine that that's the reason why you called it not reconnect your child to nature, but instead, you know, climate crisis, climate crisis, alarm, alarm, alarm, parents do something. Right.
00:28:23
Speaker
I mean, for this book, I will say, I kind of like took like the title itself, right? Like I'm not debating that the climate crisis exists. Like we're not debating global warming. Like if you're picking up this book,
00:28:35
Speaker
The idea is is that you already know this is thing and that you're worried about it and you have questions in some way. um So in that sense, I think like some of the work was like done for me with the title. Yeah.
00:28:48
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, one of the things that I have heard back from parents that has been really great has just been for them to say, oh, I learned some practical tips that I can apply in our own life.
00:29:02
Speaker
Because that was the big thing for me, right? Like we're all so busy and especially parents, especially you know the younger that your kids are. And I really wanted people to come away from it thinking about like,
00:29:16
Speaker
Oh, it doesn't need to be like a big one and done conversation. It's really like a journey throughout of like, We're outside. This is why we like pick up our trash or like this is why we take care of the trees or the plants or we're at the supermarket and this is why we don't buy things in plastic when we have an option for something that's better. But if plastic is the only option, then that's maybe that's a problem and we can talk about why that's a problem, but we're not going to make ourselves feel bad about
00:29:47
Speaker
um And so I really wanted it to be things that people could do just in their everyday life, because that's what I've tried to do with my own kid. um She, i kind of set the groundwork very early on for her to understand that like fossil fuels are making the planet hotter. And I really did that by following her lead. She wanted to once why, when she was,
00:30:11
Speaker
I don't she's probably two or three. And she was like, why is our car quieter than grandpa's car? Right. And like, I didn't even hurt to me, but we've always had an electric car and her grandpa's car who she like my parents live like a mile from us. She sees them a lot. She's in the car with them a lot. Like they have a gas powered car.
00:30:28
Speaker
That's not even something that would have like occurred to me, but was something that she noticed. And then we could have a conversation about like, oh, like our car runs on something called electricity, which means it's cleaner for the air and, you know, better for the planet overall. And that was like a conversation we had when she was two years old. And now she has set the groundwork for her to already understand that the earth is warming and why that's not necessarily a good thing, but also like that there are things people can do about, do to make it not as bad.
00:31:00
Speaker
Yeah, it really is a lifestyle shift, right? It's about helping. i mean, in some ways, i once was working, i was i i was at a conference at one time with ah Dana Baumaster, who is the, um she's one of the co-founders of biomimicry, you know, the whole design ah inspired by nature.
Collaborating with Parents for Long-term Solutions
00:31:20
Speaker
And she was talking about, we were talking about this conversation of do you target children, adults, teenagers, you know, school age, what? what And she herself was saying, I, i admire people who, ah you know, work with parents, because and work with children in particular, because she was saying, you know, that means that you really believe the world is going to exist when those children grow up, and they can make the change. She's like, I'm an impatient person, I want to work directly, you know, with adults that can make changes today. And I was saying, and we were having this really interesting conversation about how
00:31:53
Speaker
While that is true, because I understand that because I'm like that. I like working with adults. I feel like, you know, there's a whole thing. But I do recognize that there's something really beautiful about working with an adult, ah we working with a parent, because in reality, you're actually helping them with their children, but inadvertently, all of that just is back on them. So it's like you are working with an adult, you just happen to be, you know, kind of helping them see things through their children's eyes.
00:32:24
Speaker
and And I do think that most parents want their child to live a better life than the life than you know that we want them to always have something more than what we had or where you know where we are today.
00:32:36
Speaker
And so it becomes this kind of really great goal of, hey, we want to leave the planet really well you. well for you We want to leave things in a way that is going to, you know, make your life better and easier. And therefore, if I have to teach you these things, it's because I have to do them too.
00:32:55
Speaker
I have to be the example. Right. And I think that like the thing about working with parents is that parents are playing the long game already because they know that like it's a marathon, not a sprint. Like, yes, sometimes I want action to happen a lot like faster than it is, but parents already know that like, you're kind of just planting the seeds for like things to continue to take off, which is like a little bit about how I have slowly made myself think about gardening. You know, we have a house and that has ah like decent amount of land.
00:33:30
Speaker
And I was very impatient with it at first because it was all grass. And I was like, well, I want it to be more like wild. I want to do this. I want to do this. um And I very slowly have come to the realization. I'm like, okay, I planted apple trees. like Those apple trees are going to take 20 years to look like anything that like a kid could climb on. right So my kid's not necessarily going to enjoy them, but somebody else's kid might, or maybe my grandkids will. And so it has kind of forced me to like think about the longer term goal than like this instance.
00:34:07
Speaker
What kind of changes have you seen in your own child from this this work? And is are there things that maybe you didn't include in the book that now you think, oh, if I ever write a part two or when I write articles, I want to focus on this because, yeah mean, we always discover new things, but as part of the process. But I'm just curious as to what changes that you have seen.
00:34:26
Speaker
i think that, you know, so... By the time this book came out, like this was her first year of like regular full-time school. And so I think that has been an interesting change because he just seeing the way she interacts with people at school, for instance, on Earth Day of all days,
00:34:49
Speaker
she came home with like a plastic necklace that had plastic beads on it. Like I think the teachers were trying to like teach them about pattern, like pattern making. And those were the materials they had.
00:34:59
Speaker
um And she was kind of like, oh, I asked my teacher about the plastic, but she said it was okay because it was just a little bit of plastic because like she knows that like we don't use a lot of plastic.
00:35:11
Speaker
So of course I kind of had like had to balance that conversation of like, okay, I want you like, first of all, I'm so proud of you for even asking, asking that asking for pushing. That's amazing.
00:35:22
Speaker
That's a amazing. And she is kind of like a shy kid who does not like to stand out. So just the fact, i mean, the fact that anybody would, but especially knowing her personality that she asked that question, I was like, I am so like proud of you. And like,
00:35:37
Speaker
so glad that this is what you did, but then also had to have kind of like a conversation of like, well, like even a little bit of plastic, is it like great? arm Like maybe there are some solutions that we could like suggest to your teacher for the kids next year.
00:35:53
Speaker
And so I think i didn't really, when I was writing the book, I think I was still in this place where I could control most of her like day-to-day life and her day-to-day interactions. And like very quickly when your kid gets into school, that kind of goes out the window.
00:36:11
Speaker
So that I think, and I mean, I've struggled with it, like with myself, right? Like I go to like kids' birthday parties. We just had three birthday parties that we went to over the course of three days. And You know, some of the parents know what I do. Some of them don't. We were at one birthday party and a mom came up to me and she was like, are these styrofoam plates killing you? I'm like, well, they're not great, but like we're here at this party. Like what am I going to do about it?
00:36:39
Speaker
Right? Like we're celebrating someone's like six year old. um So it's just kind of that like other people's reaction that I think I didn't like think about it as much.
00:36:53
Speaker
Yeah. And and so if you were maybe think in multiple directions, one thing is this is actually the reason why where I live in Dhammenhur, we actually developed the school for exactly that same reason in the sense that parents realized and this is something that.
00:37:08
Speaker
um kind of in in working with the global eco-village network, they say one of the first things that is born in a community that wants longevity, like a community that really wants to exist over time, is a school.
00:37:20
Speaker
Because what they realize is that their children, you know, here you are trying to change the paradigm, making such big changes as an adult, and you're trying to enter into all this world. And then all of a sudden your kids, as you said, at a very, very young and impressionable age, get sent to a school that might have completely different values than what you have.
00:37:39
Speaker
So it's not so much about like just teaching what people might think of as like the spiritual worldview, but more of like even the more the worldview around ecology and all these different kinds of relationship building and stuff like that.
00:37:52
Speaker
And that is why many of one of the first big, big projects that a community takes on after whatever is the foundational worldview that they have is usually a school. to To help each other move that. And as a matter of fact, the client that I was telling you about that wrote the children's book, her book is intended for homeschooling families as a and has like a little workbook connected to it and how she's working on lesson plans, because it's the whole idea of We need to teach this worldview and we need to give the parents, you know, exercises and help and support in doing that.
00:38:26
Speaker
I love that your daughter asked. I think that that's absolutely what we need. Like just that curiosity of like not reprimanding. Mommy said that that's bad. Right. yeah And I think, and kudos to you for teaching her in that way where she didn't do it as in, you know, mommy says this is bad, but more of like, Hey, mom was talking to me about plastic and these are plastic and it's earth day. So what does that mean? And i I do think, I think that the hardest part about it, i mean, besides that just asking the questions, but i think the hardest part, which I think you just mentioned, and I want to call it out because you navigated it really beautifully, which is
00:39:03
Speaker
Okay. Let me have a hard conversation with you, which is your teacher is doing the best. She can, but even a little bit of plastic when it's not necessary is still bad. And we want to not support that. So how can we help your teacher make a better decision next year? Like turning it into a game, a problem solving, like what would you do honey at that age to like,
00:39:27
Speaker
to to try to do whatever it was that your teacher was was teaching you to learn that same thing. um what What do you think we should do? And then let's, you know, let's propose a solution to your teacher. So you don't come at it from the perspective of, I know better than you, but more like, hey, my daughter and I took this opportunity to take this thing that happened and turn it into a ah brainstorming lesson and an opportunity for her to really explore this topic.
00:39:53
Speaker
And here's some ideas that we came up with for you. who And that's something I like, obviously, she's still young, but I think so much of like the things you do for the climate crisis are like, you also have the conversation just about economic privilege, right? And access to certain things.
00:40:09
Speaker
And that has been something that I have tried to get her to think about a little bit, right? Like in terms of like we have an electric car, we have an electric car because it's better for the planet, but also like we have that car because the one I had before died. And when I bought a new one, I wasn't going to buy a gas one, but somebody who has like an older car, like it's really good that they've like held on to that car for as long as they like have, and not like everybody can afford to make these changes, nor do they necessarily like need to.
00:40:43
Speaker
Um, But I think like really getting her to start like thinking through just the privilege around certain things is also, and like why certain people have access to certain things and other people don't is just an important part of living in this world, but also just the climate crisis in general.
00:41:02
Speaker
Absolutely. And also the geography changes the solution. And I think that that's another important piece that is important for us to teach children of all ages. Because I think sometimes like, i often use the example of diapers.
00:41:16
Speaker
Like if you live in an area, if you live in an area that's water strapped, where water is a big, big issue, then cloth diapers, as much as they seem better for the environment, might not be better for the environment overall.
00:41:30
Speaker
And so you being able to also, like you said, um privilege is one piece of it. Like what do we ah like what what can we permit ourselves to do? Right. Including asking ourselves sometimes hard questions because, you know, sometimes we say we can't afford it, but that's also bullshit. Like, sorry for saying it that way. Like, it's such crap.
00:41:49
Speaker
But also, like, what are the right questions to ask? So the right questions are... just kind of as you were saying, you, you, I don't think you said it like directly, but the way you said, which is, you know, recycle, reuse goes above, you know, actually reusing or repairing and all these parts go before even recycling goes before, you know, replacing and all these different aspects. And I think that helping that scale so that you ask yourself questions. Okay, first, what can I do if something I have breaks or if I'm going to try to create something, what can I do to first reuse something that I have?
00:42:29
Speaker
How can I repair, you know, these things and and kind of understanding that recycle is near the bottom, not near the top. It's like something that we have to think about in a different way, one.
00:42:41
Speaker
Two, also understanding that some of the questions we have to ask is what what is available to me in the geography that I am? Because just because it's something that's super regenerative or sustainable in some other continent doesn't mean that I should ship it over to where I am. And I think that that's another part. And another thing that I might encourage you to do, but that's just my own bias, it you know, sometimes the answer, the humans don't have them yet.
00:43:07
Speaker
And sometimes it's nice to just say, go outside and or inside if you have, is you know, a house plant that's become like a friend and go ask. Go ask and see, you know, in in some cases I've seen people talk about, you know, introducing them depending on your worldview and what you believe in, like, you know,
00:43:25
Speaker
go ask the plants, go ask the fairies, go ask the mushrooms, go ask the gnomes, like whatever your worldview might be. But instead of, you don't have to look at it all internally, just to yourself, right? This relationship and this that is about learning the wisdom that other beings, other human beings, as well as other plant beings, other, you know, nature beings in general have. And so I don't know, go sit with the with the family dog and ask certain questions.
00:43:54
Speaker
The dog might say, don't know. And then that's right, then go over to somebody else. Like if I was going to honor Earth Day, dear cat, how would I honor Earth Day for you?
00:44:07
Speaker
If I'm going to go honor Earth Day, dear, you know, i don't know, ah whatever, oak tree, how am I going to honor it for you Might be really interesting to see, you know, what what what answers come up. yeah Yeah. no i like I completely agree. um We have, this reminds me that I don't do very well with like indoor plants. I'm much better with outdoor things, but we do have this one um prickly pear cactus that I have had now for like 10 years.
00:44:39
Speaker
um And you know, yeah. my And my daughter has like a friend who sometimes she'll come over and she will like actually just go over and say hi to this like prickly pear cactus. And that is just like something she has started to do like on her own that she did probably like from the first time she was ever in the house.
00:44:58
Speaker
And sometimes she'll come to me and she's like, the cactus says it's really thirsty. You haven't been watering it enough. Yeah. can get Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. That's exactly what we want. All right. But yeah, I mean, I just like love that like relationship that they have. But I mean, you're right. Just thinking, you know, in the book, I have a section on both schools that have had solar panels, right? And how they've incorporated like solar panels into their lessons plans.
00:45:30
Speaker
But then also talking to a person out in Alaska where they are using wind turbines because like solar panels don't make sense there. So that's like a very, that is a very important aspect to think about your geography. And that is something that,
00:45:43
Speaker
Just overall, I've tried to stress with the parents I have talked to of, you kind of have to think about it of like, this is where I am at this place
Adapting Environmental Decisions to Life Circumstances
00:45:52
Speaker
in my life. And these are the types of decisions that I am able to make. Because I think people sort of worry sometimes that they have to do everything perfectly for the environment. Right.
00:46:04
Speaker
And if they can't, they're not going to do anything. And I'm like, no, no, you just have to do like what you can for this particular stage of your like life and your parenting journey. um When my daughter was up until when my daughter was about three, she had never gone more than a week with seeing my like sister because we lived close to each other. um So that like they had a very close relationship. And then my sister got a job, um hundreds of miles away from us. And so it was kind of like, well, like, I know that flying is bad, but this relationship is important. So we're still going to get like, I'm making the decision that I will put you on the plane and we will fly to see her because like, this is where we are are at this point in our lives. um And, you know, she, my sister only stayed there for two years and now she is like back within like a three hour drive. So it has like completely like changed again.
00:46:56
Speaker
And so I think that that's just like so important for people to remember that you just have to do the best you can for where you are, and everything's going to keep changing. Well, and I think that as as you're saying these things, I also think that it's really important for parents to consider where to bring the children into these conversations to help them understand your decision making process to which who knows by the time they get older, they might have other solutions, which are great.
00:47:25
Speaker
But like, you know, where you might say, Okay, honey, you know, we, as you know, we believe this philosophy, right? So we're we have to decide how we're going to go see your aunt. And so let's have a conversation.
00:47:36
Speaker
There's there's here are all the methods we can think of drive for this many days, you know, this is what it would take for a train. And this is what it would be a for a plane. And here are all the cons. And I mean, you don't have to go into super gritty details, right? But even just general details that say, here are the things. And then we've decided that based on the relationship that you that we all want to have, anddadara we've come to this conclusion. Now, we know it's not optimum for the environment. But at the same time,
00:48:04
Speaker
We do it selectively and with this consciousness. And therefore we will continue to keep looking for additional solutions to pop up. So also helping your C like, this isn't a decision that we make and we're like, this is it.
00:48:17
Speaker
It's done. But more of, This is something we're choosing now, right here, right now. And we're open to the fact that it might not be the future solution because something else might come around and we might explore other things. Because again, children have this creative, connected mind.
00:48:36
Speaker
And I feel like we sometimes, um in Dom and her, at first I have to admit, I don't have children. So it used to annoy the crap out of me. I am i a professional aunt and now a professional great aunt.
00:48:48
Speaker
And I take great pride in my aunt and great aunt duties. um But for example, we, ah it was encouraged by the spiritual founder of Dom and Her to have children at our house meetings because we have house meetings every week.
00:49:03
Speaker
And at first it used to annoy the hell out of me, especially because at one point we were living in a house with a boy who would really get into the conversations. And so sometimes he would say, you know, he wanted to say his piece, his, of whatever it was that we were the project we were discussing or whatever. And at first I was like,
00:49:19
Speaker
Oh my goodness, what can he possibly say? But I got to admit, every once in a while, he came up with stuff where I was like, ah would have never thought of that.
00:49:30
Speaker
And so it is helpful just the same to have all these different voices, right? Of course, age appropriate, making sure that you don't weigh in on certain pieces. But I do think that there is like a well, especially because again, they will bring in the voice of the other kin much easier than we will.
00:49:46
Speaker
And so like you said, you know, it's time for you to water the cactus because the cactus is screaming at me that, you know, needs water. You might end up with a you know, the cactus was thinking about this in the terms of how they do it. And they, you know, might use a still cactus description, which then you translate to being like, huh, in a human terms, that would be this. I had never thought of that.
00:50:11
Speaker
And so children are a wonderful avenue for that type of connection to come back into our adult lives. Right. Yeah. And I think, I mean, like to your point, like by letting them have those kinds of conversations, you're helping them practice their problem solving skills, which is just like a skill that they're going to need going forward. And also just to, know, make their own decisions. um My kid has decided that she really likes cow milk. um that like like we've tried We've had conversations about like the pros and cons of it um we
00:50:48
Speaker
it. prefer oat milk most of the time, but she very much has been like, I understand this, but I don't like the taste of oat milk. um So I'm going to stick with cow milk. And that's fine. I think like that's like that's her decision. And then we've had other conversations where she also has decided on her own that she's not going to eat meat. She will eat fish, but she won't eat meat.
00:51:12
Speaker
any meat. And like that was also just kind sort of a thing that I let her do on her own. And again, might like change as she like grows up and like wants to actually over at kids houses and wants to try something else, which is fine. But I think like her making those decisions for herself has been great and also means that like sometimes she does have to like problem solve a little bit when we're like on vacation or out at a restaurant to figure out what she is going to have for dinner.
00:51:41
Speaker
Yeah. I have to say I lived in a, so we live in our shared homes are called nucleos. And I lived in a nucleo once where we were moving towards the direction. So we had very specific needs because we were right in the middle of the forest. It was ah it was, it was a tree house village in the middle of the forest.
00:51:58
Speaker
And, um, I, We had very specific needs because of the way that the system, the septic system and things like that were. And um one of the things I loved was what we were starting to do was, for example, explore every kind of product. And I'm not saying that parents should do this, but I'm just saying like we were starting to go things like, for example, we reached out to there's there's two kind of companies connected to Dom and her at the time there was only one.
00:52:26
Speaker
that are that are produce some detergents and things like that. So we had a big conversation with them about like, what is the what does it mean to live where we live? And what are the right detergents? Because for example, you might think something natural, like I don't know, ah coconut oil,
00:52:43
Speaker
would be good. But they were like, no, coconut oil here is bad because it can't because everything goes straight into the dirt and into the earth. And those kinds of oils are not good. So we ended up having really great conversations. And they ended up building some experimental detergents for us that um you had to learn how to use differently.
00:53:01
Speaker
they They were able to create shampoo and dish soap and ah like shampoo dish soap, hand soap, and I think something else, I can't remember what it was.
00:53:11
Speaker
um Oh, and and like cloth washing detergent, because as soon as it comes in contact with water, it starts to break down. So it has to be used in a very, very different way.
00:53:22
Speaker
And so you had to learn not only about the ecology of where we were, like what kinds of systems did we have, what makes sense to put into those systems. And then in their case that they were able to like build us some stuff that we were experimenting with for them. But for example, you know, okay, you want to drink, you know, cow milk, or you want to, you know, not eat meat or whatever. Or let's just say she said she did want to eat meat.
00:53:46
Speaker
Okay, how can we make sure that the meat that we're eating comes from the right sources and all these signs? I think one of the beautiful things in all of this conversation is about, making the decision making process, especially relating to the products we use and the the the way that we do things becomes part of the family dynamic.
Integrating Environmental Consciousness in Family Dynamics
00:54:10
Speaker
And I think that that's something that we stress here in Dom and her a lot of like, We should be making all these decisions together. We shouldn't leave things just because we've always done them that way, because the world is different. Everything is changing. And so therefore, it would be great for us to be more conscious and to also know that we need to renew those changes because things might change.
00:54:29
Speaker
new products might come in the market, new situations might happen around us. And so maybe you do have cow's milk because you go and you get it from the farm and you get to know those cows and you start to understand how the farmer is taking care of them. I once taught um a series of my students that came to Domino for a retreat.
00:54:47
Speaker
It was really fun because I took them to a place where they were able to have asked questions to the growers of the plants. And they made decisions not to buy plants from certain growers, because those growers were not using mechanisms that were good for the plants.
00:55:03
Speaker
They were treating the plants as commodities. And they were like, I don't want to support that. And I don't want those plants to have to support that. So we're going to go over here and such. And I think that that's exactly what you're doing with with children in this case is like, I want you to make informed decisions. And I want you to feel comfortable asking those questions that might be intrusive, but they're so important nowadays.
00:55:22
Speaker
Like, how are you raising this? Why did you choose plastic? Like, why are there other options type of thing? Yeah, yeah, no, I think all of that like is so important and it's just like a way for them start to practice, right, like how they're going to live in the world.
Conclusion & Final Thoughts
00:55:39
Speaker
Exactly. I love this conversation so much. Thank you so much, Bridget. Like really, i love what you're doing and the way that you're thinking about this with children. And I hope that there's more parents that are going to go out there.
00:55:50
Speaker
We're definitely ah going to include your book in the show notes. Can you tell everybody the exact name of the book? Of course. So it's called Parenting in a Climate Crisis, a Handbook for Turning Fear into Action.
00:56:02
Speaker
I love it. And we're going to include the link so that people can easily find it and purchase it in the US and in other places around the world. And any last words for parents that are just kind of getting into this?
00:56:16
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's a very serious business, obviously, like raising kids on the planet that we're living in. But don't forget to have fun and that you're going to mess it up sometimes. Like, don't take it too seriously.
00:56:30
Speaker
I love that. I love that. And also, if you want to continue to have these types of conversations, of course, the naturally conscious community is the place for you where we can really discuss this co creation with the natural world. And how is it that we as humans better integrate ourselves back into nature, reminding ourselves that we are beings of nature. So That's everything. There's so much in here. i'm I'm like, I'm already reeling because I'm thinking of all the little kids around me. And so I'm excited for everyone. And if you're out there, please remember, resist the urge to hold back your emerging green brilliance. These are the conversations that we need to be having and we're happy to have them. So like and subscribe and share this and go out and buy Bridget's book either for yourself or for some family member that has small children that you know is looking to understand and look for a better way to talk through these types of situations that's it for now bye thanks for tuning in to this episode of reconnect with plant wisdom to continue these conversations join us in the naturally conscious community
00:57:35
Speaker
your premier online ecosystem for plant reawakening and accelerated evolution and co-creation with other kin. Here you'll find expansive discussions, interactive courses, live events, and supportive group programs like the Plant Wisdom Book Club and the Sprouts Writing and Creativity Group.
00:57:52
Speaker
Connect with like-minded individuals collaborating with plants to integrate these insights into life. Intro and outro music by Steve Shuley and Poinsettia from The Singing Life of Plants. That's it for me, Tigria Gardenia, and my plant collaborators.
00:58:06
Speaker
Until next time, remember, resist the urge to hold back your emerging green brilliance. I'm out. Bye.