2020 has been such a transformative year, one we have never seen before in our lifetime and I hope we do not have to see again. When you begin to look back at even the last year or two, the world is in such a vastly different place than it once was… Over the last few months, it has given us the opportunity to evolve and reflect upon what sort of world and society we want to live in. As the virus calms in Europe, other parts of the world are being devastated. It is now our turn to help those in desperate need, the Refugees of the world and as budgets for conservation are axed or pulled back, the Rainforest Trust as helping us to step up.

When I think back to before the virus. We were in the middle of a climate crisis so big no one had any answers of how to dramatically turn around our fate. We pinned hopes on a 12 year poster girl, travelling to meet with world leaders and publicise the cause and inspire her generation and others whilst we ‘strike for climate’, though I fear it is not her generation that holds the power for significant change.

Overpopulated, overstimulated and overindulged. We were oversubscribed to the false idols of celebrity and growing further apart as a community and even as a nation.

Many more people now are reflecting on their own choices and lifestyle - everyone can make a big difference, through consumer choices and looking at how we live. If there is one thing I know now, if we weren’t going to do enough by ourselves, mother nature was surely going to step in! What a change this year of reset has been. Though I wish their was a different way to find our balance, a little reset and reflection time has drawn to us just how much the old ways were not working. It is now time to help, hold hands together and care.

In such a timultuous time, we found our solice and sanctuary in the calm reflection of nature. Never have we gleefully gazed at the trees beconning spring outside our windows or the grass growing tall in the yard. Listening to the trees rustle and talk as you walk through the park and seeing our own human fragility reflected in nature, in the oxygen we breathe, the calmness of life that brings balance and it was nature again there to remind us of our own humanity. As we marvelled at how quickly the smogs over cities dispersed and the rivers ran clear. We opened our arms to our communities, found new heroes in our carers, our doctors and nurses. The every person working to keep us all safe, who make sacrifices everyday and care for their communities. Our health has come to the forefront of the conversation and anything we can do to help ourselves be well, psychically but also mentally. Long may that continue to be.

If we dont want to live in a society that needs to riot and protest for equality, to have our children strike for the climate emergency, then that is not right. There was no way that any government was going to stop the airlines flying and business travelling accross the globe daily for meetings when we have the technology. We need to genuinely look at the areas in our lives that need to evolve with technology by our sides to make our lives easier and cleaner. Even those seemingly materialistic social media stars have had turn arounds in their own attitudes during this time and reflected on their dialogues to others. Our compassion, our consumption, what we stand for and how we communicate to each other is now at the forefront of the conversation.

I certainly have found my connection to nature to be my constant in these days, my daily inspiration, how the calmness of the skies that followed lockdown felt and brought joy to my heart as I took my daily exercise in the woodland and fields. It was almost unsettling how still the world can be, it showed us the only way we will move forward is to respect nature, to grow alongside it and not just bulldozer it to build, build, build.

Our world is going through massive changes and though it can feel daunting and scary to not return to our old ways, we need to be more mindful of the toll our face paced way of life had on us mentally and the planet. From burnout and our mental health crisis to the slowing of climate change, we have a wonderful opportunity to set things on a right track. To reset our relationship with nature.

The birds are signing loudly outside my window.

If you feel an injustice, you feel a connection to a cause and want to help your community, get involved, whether that is speaking out for black lives matter, womens rights, helping homelessness or protecting our green belt from mass urbanisation! Putting pressure on your MP is a great place to start, so write to them - they want to her from you, alongside joining community groups, they also need young people, you never know what friendships you might find or the difference you will make. Let’s reset together.