There are many differences from the busy world of before. I count myself as one of the lucky ones as in lockdown, not only was I still working but living with my family and playing online games with my friends. I escaped what looked like the worst parts of lockdown: loneliness and financial worries. I am a Donor Carer for the NHS, taking blood on the mobile unit. In my role I briefly chatted to hundreds of donors and it felt like we had become a social hub, for many people this was their only journey outside in weeks, and unlike the supermarket, here they got to talk to people. There were many new donors and the overwhelming feeling that people were desperate to help in some way because of the suffering from the virus. It was both sad and heart-warming to see.
Despite the negative effects the virus has had on people, I cannot help but notice how healthy the local environment looks. I live near the middle of a town and a pheasant appeared on our road, the air is cleaner, and the roadsides of my commute look brighter. Everyone is gardening, building many spectacular flower gardens which I have seen an abundance of bees visiting. I hope that as people slowly return to normal life that they will see this too and be motivated to protect it. Having seen nature build so quickly, and with the general knowledge that we need a healthy natural world, it should seem feasible to everyone that we can at least look after our local spaces better.
