10 Ways to Nurture Nature After Retiring — or Before

For those of us despairing over what's happening to the planet, 2025 will require a pivot. More people than ever may be pursuing more personal, local solutions to climate change.

Of course, there are any number of environmental studies, forecasts and political overviews that will make your head buzz like a bumblebee. Spoiler alert: 2024 was the hottest year on record, yet there's been little progress in bringing down global temperatures among the largest producers of carbon emissions.

My best suggestion, though, is to start doing something positive on the local level. There are not only a bevy of personal proactive actions you can take; you don't really need to go far to do them. They also may make you feel good and improve your well-being.

• Green Your Travel. Did you know that Google can provide an estimate of the carbon emission on every flight you take? While you can create a lower carbon footprint by driving an electric vehicle, some modes of transportation are greener than others. By taking a train, you generate less greenhouse gases than driving an internal combustion vehicle. Biking is practically carbon neutral.
  
  Choose your mode of travel carefully. Some of the most carbon intensive ways of getting around are often the most popular: Cruise ships and short-haul flights are the worst carbon emitters.

• Be a Green Volunteer. This is a two-fer. You can engage in social environmental activity, which is good for your health, and reap some environmental benefits if you’re working outdoors. The possibilities seem endless.
  
  I love volunteering for my local Forest Preserve District. I'm a regular on three stewardship crews restoring native landscapes. It's a year-round activity and I get to meet interesting people who feel the same way I do about nature. I'm always amazed at how many retired volunteers I meet. Some have been volunteering for decades.

• Repurpose with a Purpose. Like most people, my wife and I have a home full of stuff. Our daughters have made it abundantly clear they don’t want our knick-knacks, pillows and assorted furniture. Fortunately, most of what we own doesn’t need to and – shouldn’t – end up in our local landfill. So, I donated some tools to a local public tool library. I find homes for my books at the local used bookstores or our public library. And there’s always Goodwill or the Salvation Army
  
  If I'm feeling lazy, I post a notice on our neighborhood listserve about usable stuff I'm giving away. Our neighbors usually will pick up items on the curb. I even found a home for my student violin, which I hope is being played by someone who will take care of my old friend of 50-plus years. Now I need to find homes for four guitars, two bugles, a trombone and a ukulele. I'm thinking of trying Facebook Marketplace.

• Compost Your Kitchen Waste. With our intense rain events, we’re losing countless tons of topsoil. In the Midwest, where we live, it’s some of the most fertile soil on Earth. You can make new soil from kitchen and yard waste, which shouldn’t go to the landfill, where it produces greenhouse gases.
  
  You can buy your own backyard compost tumbler or simply bury kitchen waste in your garden to fertilize it naturally. Many waste haulers also provide separate pickup for kitchen waste. Our village has a drop-off site that takes scraps along with cardboard, shoes and textiles — all of which are recycled. If your municipality doesn't offer this, work with your neighbors to lobby your local government. The EPA offers more advice on composting.

• Green Your HVAC. How you heat and cool your house has a big impact on the environment. Buildings account for more than one-quarter of all carbon emissions. If you’re burning oil or natural gas, you’re creating greenhouse gases. You can buy energy-efficient furnaces, air conditioners and water heaters. The most efficient units are electric heat pumps.
  
  Several energy tax credits are available at time of publication. Utility companies typically offer rebates for certain appliances. Rewiring America is a good place to start to calculate how much money you can save.

• Organize. If there’s something that needs to be done in your area, from creating community gardens to restoration projects, get together with neighbors and friends. Make a plan to do the work. A book club may even spur thoughts and actions. This may be the year in which community action is revived and scales up. “Small groups together or online can be so powerful,” adds Susan Eirich, founder and executive director of The Earthfire Institute in Driggs, Idaho.
  
• Focus on Policies You Want to Change. Pick one issue or project and concentrate on getting government agencies to improve your community. Do you want more plastics recycled? More trees planted? More sidewalks and biking paths? Tell elected officials what you want and show up at their meetings. Some are even held remotely.

• Shop for Food Produced Bioregionally. This is a pretty simple concept. The longer the distance food is transported, the bigger the carbon footprint. Local farmers’ markets are a good place to start looking for locally produced fruit, vegetables and meat. Not only can you buy fresher food, but you can also support your local economy. Better yet, patronize community-supported agriculture, which works as a subscription service for seasonal produce.

• Experience Nature. It doesn’t’ matter where you go. You could walk to a city park or visit a local forest preserve. Soak up the sights, smells and sounds. Leave your smartphone at home. Being in nature is calming and regenerative. Make it part of your daily routine.
  
• Power of Connection."Things have to resonate deeply in order for us to have an experience that gives us enough energy to overcome all the obstacles to taking effective action," says Eirich. "Repetition —visiting a place or tree or animal relatively consistently — builds trust. And from one connection many others may evolve in an ever-growing richer fascination and delight."

• Take Your Time. Don’t think of taking a walk in the park or just being outside as something you’re consuming. It’s enriching. While you can never get back time you spent in the dentist’s chair or office, green time recharges your vitality. “The time constraints we live by are one of the greatest harms that modern life causes us — it takes us away from feeling deeply what is true,” Eirich notes. “It takes time to form a relationship, with a person, dog, fish or tree, where the two parties begin to resonate ever more with, nurture and enjoy one another.”

The beauty of these suggestions is that you can do as many or as little as you can. You don't even have to wait until you retire to do them. You may even "audition" some volunteer engagements and ramp them up if you have more time. The most important takeaway is that they are meaningful to you.