My COVID Diaries: noticing nature

Nearly two-thirds of us reported that spending time noticing the nature around us has helped us feel happiness during lockdown¹.

The beautiful weather we experienced during those first weeks of the pandemic here in the UK felt in stark contrast with the darkness and fear I felt inside.

But I found huge comfort in seeing nature thrive as once again spring became summer without interruption, at a time when everything else was in limbo.

For many, lockdown gave us unexpected time to reconnect with nature in a way modern life often prevents. Between unreliable British weather and the long hours we work in veterinary, I often feel those precious summer days pass me by.

Our garden, and those days spent in it during lockdown, were truly a gift – even if life felt scary and precarious.

Old habits die hard

More than half of the population plans to make a habit of spending as much time in nature once life goes back to normal. Two months back into working full-time in practice and I have already let that slip. I have probably spent longer on Zoom than I have in nature.

This week was my first week of holiday. Otherwise known as a chance to catch up on admin, accounts and all the projects I have not found energy for after a day in practice.

The saying goes that a change is as good as a break, but by Wednesday I was not feeling particularly refreshed.

Butterfly respite

That was until my dad suggested we take part in the Big Butterfly Count. We spent 15 glorious minutes in my parents’ garden doing nothing but watching for butterflies; noticing the frantic buzz of nature around us that is not as calm nor still as I thought.

We spotted 12 butterflies: 1 large white, 7 small white, 3 admirals and 1 peacock (my spot). They circled and dived around us, settling briefly on vibrant splashes of flowers just long enough to check the patterns on their wings against our identification chart.

Bees busied themselves and everything I looked at seemed to be alive in a way I had never noticed before.

Despite being an animal lover and a keen runner, I have never thought of myself as big into nature. I grew up in London and as a teenager famously proclaimed that I did not do outside. But those 15 minutes were like opening a window on to a city and suddenly becoming aware of the busy traffic below.

Butterflies are quick to react to changes in their environment. If their numbers fall, it is an early indicator of our environment’s health; counting them is like taking the pulse of nature. It is also the closest I have got to practising mindfulness for a while.

Eyes opened

After years of warnings about the impact of modern life on the world around us, it has taken a human health crisis to open my eyes to just how important nature is to me.

By the time this is published, the official Big Butterfly Count will have ended. But this does not mean we cannot all take 15 minutes out of our days to truly connect with nature: count the butterflies; notice the bees; watch the seasons change. See that it is not just us in our practices that are busy simply keeping life going, whatever threats we face.