2026 Theme: Garden/Volunteers for Sustainable Development

In the cold spell that usually falls around New Year's Day, I am delighted to get emails (and maybe catalogues) from garden companies. They know their audience! It's cold and gray, but the promise of beautiful flowers can be had immediately. Bluestone Perennials makes a point that its plants come in sustainable pots with no styrofoam. So I may have to talk a bit about sustainability, especially since it is the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY). These are two of my favorite topics. 

In my lifetime, bees and butterflies have gone from copious to scarce. As children, my brothers and I caught a myriad of butterflies and pinned them to cardboard. I can't undo my ignorance from that era, but I have been blessed with a friend who taught me how to raise monarchs. In addition, my love for flowers has attracted bees, birds, and even hummingbirds. 

Sustainability became a buzzword years ago. I have a book written by a man who taught a class at the Clearing about sustainability. I have yet to read it, but I have read about the topic every chance I get and will continue to do so. Of course, it's going to take volunteers, because our governments are more concerned with their own survival than that of our species and other species. But consider what volunteers have done since the first Earth Day in 1970. I have a neighbor who does not recycle. I don't expect her to change, but I had a new appreciation of the three beautiful human beings I had the honor to raise. They have always recycled and probably don't think about it at all. It's the little things that make a huge difference in the world, but only if they are done on a huge scale. 

Have a great year. We little or no control over the government as a single person, but we can make a huge difference in government policy if we make our opinions known. Here's to a healthy future for all species.