By Bryan Beck, Board Member

New Year’s Eve has always been one of my favorite holidays. Not just because of the champagne, but I appreciate having time to reflect on the past year and think about the year to come. Though I don’t always hold to them, I’ve found that a good New Year’s Resolution helps me focus on what I care about and enter the coming year in the right state of mind.

This year I am making a goal to be more connected to nature in 2018. With this in mind, I enlisted my fellow Committee for Green Foothills board members to brainstorm a few specific nature-inspired New Year’s Resolutions and I thought I’d share.

New Year’s Resolution Ideas:

1. Start a nature club.
2. Find a place to like–a park, hiking trail, beach, shoreline–and visit it monthly.
3. Make a plan to visit a state or national park you’ve never been to.
4. Train your dog to dig up only non-native plants.
5. Find a restoration project or clean-up day in your neighborhood and sign up.
6. Eat vegetarian once a week.
7. Start a compost at work or in your home.
8. Use your Protect Coyote Valley water bottle instead of buying a bottle of water.
9. Play with your child outside everyday. Let them get dirty.
10. Host a “local only” potluck and ask guests to bring dishes made of only local ingredients.
11. Ditch the stationary bike and make plans to enjoy our cross-country trails.
12. Plant a tree.
13. Sign-up for our action alerts, and take action the next time one shows up in your inbox.
14. Be more wild.
15. Take a hike in Coyote Valley.
16. Commit to biking, walking, or taking transit to work at least 1 day/week.
17. Look up the best views in your area, and make a plan to go see them.
18. Sign-up for 3 docent-led hikes in 2018.
19. Hug a tree.
20. Work out, jog, and otherwise grow stronger so you can do all that hiking you’re planning to do.
21. Make a date to watch the sunset.
22. Start a carpool at work.
23. Take a child to the beach (preferably your own, or at least one you know).
24. Plant three more native shrubs and two native flowers in your yard.
25. Get outside!
26. Find a local nonprofit and volunteer or donate (I know a really great one if you need ideas…).
27. Read “50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth” and choose one thing you’re going to do to help the environment.
28. Take public transportation to your next meeting.
29. Unplug from your cell phone for one day a month, or ten minutes a day, and sit in your backyard or go for a walk outside.
30. Find out what existing committees or efforts your town or city has going on and join them. Conservation and open space committees often have local projects that involve things like tree preservation, invasive weed pulling, and other local community activism opportunities.

Here’s wishing you a happy, healthy, and wild 2018.