60(ish) Seconds: The Anthro-pause

Have you listened to more birds, smelled more flowers or spent more time in nature, this year?

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the pause button on humanity’s impact on nature and allowed us more time to commune with it.

This global lockdown has caused a slow down, leading to reduced: emissions, pollution, road congestion and quieter skies.

Because people are spending more time indoors, species of the natural world have had more space to roam outdoors: venturing onto trails once packed with humans, or passing through waterways once crowded with tourist boats.

In the relative calm, we hear more birds sing from their perches, see more mountaintops more clearly and smell the fresh, spring blooms.

People have a huge impact on species, and nature has had a breather: allowing species to explore more land, more ocean, more sky.

As we move back to “normal”, how can we keep the best of this “anthro-pause”, while also caring for nature?