In January, Be Hopeful

by Cynthia B. Lauer

With January comes new possibilities. Fresh perspectives. Inspiring plans. Maybe you’re considering a unique opportunity. A renewed commitment to an old goal. A chance to learn something new, meet someone new, try something new.

In this inaugural story for Living Green Barrie’s blog, we don’t start with a new year’s resolution. We don’t even start with a goal.

We start with an attitude. We start with this: “Imagine the world you want, then be it.” Without a vision, there is no first step forward. What is your vision of a sustainable community? If you’re with us, it involves small, daily choices in consumption, mobility, and energy use that contribute significantly to our collective impact.

Throughout this year, blog readers will learn about making green investments, reducing waste, naturalizing your outdoor space, planting trees, embracing sustainable transportation, making your home energy efficient, supporting local farms, buying less stuff, and shopping local. These are Living Green’s monthly Actions for Climate. 

We encourage you to adopt one constructive action very month. 

We begin with hope. In January, be hopeful.

Hopefulness involves a preparedness to foster positive change, an optimism about the future, an investment in our community, and a willingness to lead by example. 

We understand that in January, the first thing you might think of is snow. It’s often hard to feel hopeful in the depths of winter. Everything looks like it’s dead and buried under freezing mounds of the white stuff. But it’s not dead. Everything is fully alive, lying dormant just below the surface, getting ready to return to full growth when conditions are just right. Plants, mammals, insects, the soil itself are all using their reserves of energy. They are metabolizing. They are preparing. They are poised.

Let’s take our cue from nature. Be hopeful. Then aspire to action.

Let this be the year you make a difference to the environment.

And remember: hope is contagious.

A Living Green Barrie volunteer since 2025, Cynthia Lauer is a member of Simcoe County Master Gardeners and a regular contributor to The Gardener magazine.