5 Things We Can Do To Connect With Nature During Covid-19, And After!

5 Things We Can Do To Connect With Nature During Covid-19, And After!

You’ve probably already imagined what you want to do when the current crisis passes. I’ve asked many friends, and the typical response has been that they want to see and hug their parents. However, they immediately comment that “I want to go outside, breathe fresh air, and simply be with nature.” I personally believe that being in nature is one of the most important things we can do after quarantine. What about yourself? 

But, there are some questions to be asked. Will nature itself be the same? Will it be awaiting for us with open arms as before? I would say that nature is the greatest contributing factor towards the betterment of our lives. Everything comes from nature. And, we are a part of nature ourselves. 

One of the things I miss most during this period of quarantine is going to the sea and diving, canoeing, relaxing in the sand, sunbathing, and nourishing my body with Vitamin D. I live next to the beach, and it’s frustrating that I can see it, but not touch it. It’s so near, and yet so far away. 

Amazing view from Caraiva beach, Southern Bahia, Brazil. 

As a result, while staying at home in quarantine, I’ve been thinking about what I can do to benefit other people, myself, and especially the natural environment. I’ve developed a list of things we can all do while sheltering in our homes! One of my inspirations comes from my colleague, Katie Bryden. She is a filmmaker and conservationist. We work in the same NGO, and our daily goal is to find natural and sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing predicaments. Katie has written, “once we get through this pandemic, we can’t revert to our wasteful and convenience-focused habits. We can’t go back to making decisions without thinking of nature first.”

I would like to share with you some very useful tips created by Katie for #EarthDay 2020 in five categories of actions (food, electronics, lifestyle, home, and clothing). These are measures that you can take now to help the planet! And, maybe, you can adopt one right away!

1. Be vegan or start a plant-based diet 
2. Electronics Detox 
3. Buy Green
4. Use sustainable cosmetics 
5. Choose sustainable Fashion 

Some tips from Katie Bryden (katiebryden.com/updates)

Is Mother Nature Taking A Breather? 

You probably saw some tweets that went viral; for instance, one of the swans returning to the canals of Venice, as well as and dolphins swimming there. Those were false and, according to National Geographic, the water is clear because of the decrease in boat activity. But this type of news lifts our spirits in this time of hardship. 

I decided to delve a little deeper in order to determine the veracity of the actual effects. 

My findings made me think about the impact Covid-19 is having upon nature, relative to our current culture of consumption. Can we continue our previous practice of wanting more and more, at the expense of not just the environment, but those around us?

In the following link, NASA shows us beautiful images of the planet right now, and how it’s improving without our interference. In China, some maps show the change of the pollution in the atmosphere during the last few months. In India – one of the most pollutive countries in the world could – we can now see the Himalayan peaks. I personally loved this interview with Lee Hannah, Senior Climate Change Scientist for Conservation International, and a world-renowned expert in ecology, who said very simply that, “to prevent pandemics like Covid-19, [we must] take care of nature”. 

These facts are true. But at the end of all of this, how can we return to the normal life, if there’s no longer a “normal?” What if the old normal was the problem? Here we have been given the chance to choose a new path for a more sustainable life. 

Satellite data show that aerosol levels have dropped significantly since the COVID-19 lockdown began.