I remember when I was a young girl. One of my favorite things to do was build fairy houses. How I did this was with the environment around me. I would go to my favorite tree in my yard. It was a big oak tree, and on the side that was opposite my house and facing other trees I built the fairy house. Little twigs made beds, leaves made blankets, oak leaves with their veins even made rugs. I decorated the place with clovers, dandelions, rocks and whatever else was around. At times I would even pick my mom’s planted petunias and add them.  I had quite the imagination. Kaitlyn would build her fairy house at the tree next to mine. That was always her tree, and the big oak down the hill was always mine. We never saw fairies that benefitted from the houses we made. Something inside of us knew they were inspiring something greater than ourselves.
Today I’m sitting in a wooded park reflecting on the abundance of nature that taught Kaitlyn and me about design.  This part of nature has really taught all of us about design. I see many trees around me that I can build fairy houses by. The sun is shining through the yellow leaves of a tall oak, and I feel, see, smell, hear and maybe even taste (all of my senses) how nature gives us hope.
Taking care of nature by keeping parks and forests clean from litter creates sustainability for our world. Our climate depends on this. We can go all the way to the environment around us to think about sustainability for our communities as well. When I read the reports from the UN this past week about the nature of climate change and the immediate steps we must take to keep our planet safe, my heart broke.