On Father’s Day morning, my son walked into my bedroom with a big grin and a bag that said, ‘For Dads Only’. It contained gifts. While the gifts were new, the bag was not. He’s given me that exact same bag on Father’s Day and my birthday since he was a baby. It even has the years written on the bottom of it.

Why?

Because he needs to know that we care about the planet and we’re practising what we preach by recycling. It’s not enough for us to tell our kids what’s important; we have to show them by living the values we want them to instil.

And it doesn’t matter if they see us doing it or not. Values are not optional. If they are, they seize to become values.

He didn’t recognise the bag – I doubt he will for years. But one day, he will. Or he’ll turn the bag upside down and ask what the numbers are.

And that’s when we’ll plant the seed.

We’ll explain the history of the bag with a story. The story is the seed, a tiny, almost invisible seed. But with time, patience and the right nourishment, it will grow.

Until one day, it’s not a seed; it’s a tree: a strong, unmovable, rigid tree, standing proud, inspiring the next generation.