Let's make 2018 a year with clear goals and resolutions that we can stick to - goals that not only give us all happier, healthier lives, but ones that are happier and healthier for the planet too.

Here are our five resolution challenges to you:

1) Pick an adventure and just do it!

The world is an amazing place - and if you spend all day at home and in the office you are missing out.

Pick one of our 2018 adventure resolutions:

• Climb a mountain (or just enjoy the view).
• Learn to scuba dive - experience underwater life up close.
• Explore your city and learn about the local heritage.
• Take a mini-safari - explore a local wilderness area, learn about wildlife in the heart of your city or find the animals living right on your doorstep.
• Get up close and personal with our oceans, try snorkelling with the seals.
• Meet some penguins or tigers, or encounter other animals in an ethical way.

How does your sense of adventure help the environment? These wise words from Baba Dioum sum it up perfectly:

In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.

So get out there!

2) Leave toxic relationships in 2017 - like your relationship with disposable plastic

There is nothing worse than a clingy ex - so cut those ties and leave your relationship with disposable plastic items in the past. Plastic pollution is one of the gravest environmental catastrophes facing our planet, but it's one we can all help solve together.

Pick a plastic-free 2018 resolution:

• Make a pledge to give up single-use plastic shopping bags - Rethink the Bag!
• Together with your family, eliminate plastic drinking straws, balloons and bottled water.
• Pick an event or holiday you are involved in and make it 100% plastic-free.
• For the waste you can't live without or recycle, make your own EcoBricks!
• Choose reusable alternatives for disposable items you commonly use - here are some examples.

3) Eat sustainable seafood - use an app

We all love to eat - and for New Years, many of us are going to pledge to start a diet - perhaps we want a healthier body, fitter figure or be more energetic. How about a diet that is healthier for the planet?

Our 2018 resolution challenge to you: Use the WWF SASSI app to help you make sustainable seafood choices. Get you know what fish are on the red list and learn to avoid them.

If you don’t have your app handy, that’s no problem – simply buy your fresh or frozen seafood from a source with the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) logo on it – this ensures that standards have been met to reduce overfishing, bycatch and catching of threatened species. Our partner I&J is an excellent example of an MSC certified fishery. 

4) Make a permanent water-saving upgrade

At the moment, Capetonians are very aware of the need to conserve water due to the ongoing drought crisis, but when the drought is over are we simply going to go back to wasting this precious resource? We challenge to you implement a permanent water-saving solution at your home in 2018.

Pick one of these home or business upgrades as your 2018 resolution:

• Choose locally indigenous, water-wise gardening techniques and plants - low maintenance and sustainable.
• Install rainwater tanks - like the awesome ones we got from EcoTanks.
• Set up a sustainable veggie garden.
• Fit all your taps with aerators - from ultra water savers to beautiful adjustable ones, there's no shortage of these cheap, easy upgrades at almost every hardware store.

5) Become a citizen scientist

You can change the world directly - don't just leave it to the universities to figure out how our planet works. You can easily become a "citizen scientist" right now and contribute to the global wealth of knowledge.

To put it in perspective, if every South African gave just half an hour a year to citizen science, it would be the same as 100 trained scientists collecting data non-stop for 52 years!

For 2018, we challenge you to pick one of these as your resolution:

• Track nurdles on our beaches - just submit data to CoastKZN and leave your nurdles at an official drop-off point (like us).
• Learn about our local river systems. You can do your own miniSASS survey on any natural stream and contribute to a global database.
• Track the rubbish found on our coasts - contribute to international coastal cleanup efforts with the CleanSwell app.
• With just a camera you can contribute to international species tracking and identification with iSpot and WhatSpecies.
• If you love hiking and fynbos, you can help Cape Citizen Science track the health of the Cape Floral Kingdom.
• Love sharks, rays and skates? You can help track them by assisting ELMO (South African Elasmobranch Monitoring).

How are you planning to change the world in 2018? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

(Cover photo by Ingrid Sinclair)