There are lessons to learn from Covid-19 and with the green shoots of recovery, nature needs you now more than ever
The terrible human tragedies of Covid-19, and the unprecedented government actions to defeat it, have naturally absorbed all our attention in recent weeks. But we must not allow this to take our eyes off the bigger and ultimately more dangerous twin emergencies threatening humanity: climate change and the breakdown of nature.
When we come out of this pandemic, as we will, it is vital we don’t slip back into old ways of treating the planet. In this respect, if no other, Covid-19 may have done us a favour in demonstrating it is possible to take rapid and radical action when a proven need arises.
The steps we now take to secure our economic recovery must also promote climate and nature recovery, too. There are many great organisations doing fantastic work in this field, and I am really proud to be the patron of one such charity – Cheshire Wildlife Trust.
The trust does great work in conserving and restoring the natural world on our doorsteps, managing more than 30 reserves covering a wide range of habitats, and fighting for the better protection of wildlife across the county.
It connects people with nature through visits to its reserves, by providing volunteering opportunities, and through its excellent work inspiring children by visiting schools or bringing local children to wild areas.
Along with the other Wildlife Trusts across the UK, Cheshire also plays an important role in lobbying government to give nature the priority it deserves, particularly in the framing of a robust Environment Bill that will address the pressing challenges of climate change and the depletion of the natural world – its work has never been more important. And yet, as Covid-19 offers the opportunity for radical change, it also creates an immediate and potentially devastating challenge.
Working alongside 45 other Wildlife Trusts, Cheshire Wildlife Trust has bold and ambitious plans to protect more land and sea in the region for nature and help provide natural solutions to our climate emergency. In these challenging times, nature needs our help more than ever and I encourage you to join me in supporting it as generously as you can, either with a one-off donation or by becoming a member. Together, we can make sure the natural world that means so much to us can recover and be protected. u
To support us, visit cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/support-us today
