Planting a seed to help save what we love

How I can make an impact beyond my time here on planet Earth.

As I held up a placard that read “Save What We Love” with my two year old son in my arms at the End Fossil Fuels demonstration we held at Sandymount, looking out to the Irish sea, I thought about my legacy and what is it that I can do now to help save what we love, for my son’s future and for the generations that will come after him.

September is Legacy Month. It is a chance for charities to invite their supporters and the wider public to think about planting a seed for the future. This is something we should all consider, no matter what age or stage of life we are at.

The climate crisis forces us to look further ahead and to slow down. I reckon that’s a good thing. Short-term thinking and fast-paced living has gotten us into this mess of endless industrial growth. It’s part of the problem that has caused climate breakdown and the loss of biodiversity and people. When we look into the future we need to be able to imagine how the world can be better, we need to have a positive and bright vision to work towards. We need to project our imagination far beyond our time and beyond the constraints of capitalist limitations.

Over the past few days I’ve been reflecting a lot on the statement ‘Save What We Love’, thinking about all the beautiful places across this planet I’ve had the privilege to visit and know and fall in love with, from golden sandy beaches to ancient mossy forests, and how they are at risk of being lost to climate breakdown. It breaks my heart to think that future generations might not witness these incredible places of beauty.

Climate action is about saving what we love. Nature gives us so much, it gives us life. We owe it to the natural wonders of our world and to all people and creatures that call this planet Earth our shared and only home to step up now, and pay it forward. Your legacy can help us continue to fight for all of this.

So many of you are already showing up today, in so many incredible ways, and we are so grateful. I am simply inviting you to think a little further down the road. What will your legacy be?

If you are curious to know more about leaving a gift to Friends of the Earth in your Will, or if you are already considering it and require some assistance or simply want to tell us, please reach out to me at legacy@foe.ie.

With thanks for all you do,

Claudia