While lockdown imperilled our livelihoods, scuppered our social lives, and generally messed with our collective mojo, some of us were comforted by the consolatory news that our green spaces – and the flora and fauna that reside in them – were apparently thriving, free from the maleficent impact of humans. Discernible reductions in air pollution were widely reported and equally widely welcomed, literally, as a breath of fresh air.
Unfortunately, many of the positive effects were fabricated or exaggerated and the reality was that fly-tippers, litter bugs, and other more pernicious criminals capitalised on the relative lack of prying eyes to commit serious acts of vandalism and animal cruelty, as evidenced this week with confirmation of the illegal poisoning of a sea eagle in April.
If the natural world did indeed enjoy some relief from the injurious effects of people, it would appear now to be paying for that fleeting respite in spades. We humans have been making up for lost time since the restrictions on our movement have been eased, flexing our top-of-the-food-chain muscles, reminding our cohabitants of our seemingly limitless capacity for recklessness and destruction.
This week, mountain rescue teams in England warned of a “tidal wave” of avoidable call-outs as inexperienced staycationers take to the hills – often woefully ill-prepared – in a bid to relieve the boredom and frustration that comes with having spent most of the spring and early summer under one roof.
Many of those people are also swapping tiled roofs for canvas, but without first brushing up on the countryside code that entreats us to leave no trace of our having been there. Combine that lack of awareness with cheap camping gear and a throw-away consumer culture, and places that were once eye-popping in their soaring beauty have quickly become eyesores.
As Neil Oliver wrote last week, “this is not a world without us, not yet, and for as long as we are here we must tend the place.”
So, while there always seem to be new reasons to despair about human behaviour, in our choices this week we’ve tried to include a healthy dose of hopeful, uplifting pieces to restore some faith and evidence the fact that some people, at least, are tending the place.
Enjoy your weekend.