Here's what you can do to help nature

right now.

Me?

Yes, you.

Oh. Why does nature need helping?

Because the natural world is disappearing. Wildlife populations have declined by 73% in the last 50 years. Our rivers are polluted, our forests are vanishing, and the planet is heating up to scary temperatures.

Blah blah blah. Why should I care?

Human civilisation depends on nature. If you enjoy things like eating, drinking, and being alive, you have nature to thank for it. Without nature, we won’t be able to do those things.

I enjoy those things!

Me too.

So what do we need to do?

We need to reduce carbon emissions quickly in the next few years, and restore ecosystems so that the natural world can continue to function.

Wait. What have carbon emissions got to do with nature?

Climate change and nature loss are two sides of the same coin. Climate change is a symptom of our broken relationship with nature. And many of Earth’s ecosystems, like our forests and oceans, play a role in regulating the climate of the planet. When they fall apart, the Earth heats up even more.

Climate change is caused by 5G, right?

No.

What causes it then?

Burning fossil fuels.

So we should transition away from fossil fuels to renewables which are cheaper and more efficient?

Yep.

Isn’t this something the government needs to do?

Yes. So it is important to be politically active and use your voice. Vote for parties who champion the renewable transition and nature restoration. Write to your leaders and hold them to account for the climate and environmental pledges they have made. Join peaceful protests.

Isn’t environmental action expensive?

For you? No. Governments and companies will have to spend a lot of money to transition our economies and power grids. But it’s far cheaper than the damage that is being caused by extreme weather around the world. Without environmental action, our economies will collapse completely.

This is big stuff. What can I do?

As a consumer, the products and services you purchase have an impact on the world. Take protecting forests, for example. You don’t need to tie yourself to a tree, or even go to a forest to help it. Buying things like recycled toilet paper, food that doesn’t contain palm oil, and second-hand furniture all directly reduces deforestation - because then you’re not supporting the unsustainable harvesting of natural resources.

What else can I do to help nature at home?

Anyone can help to restore local habitats, which will help insects and mammals, which will help ecosystems overall. Also, having lots of greenery in your neighbourhood will make it much cooler in a heatwave.

I’m not an ecologist. Can I still help?

Do you have any access to green space?

I have a tiny garden.

Let it grow. Plant native flowers and shrubs to build habitats for insects and small mammals. Pile up deadwood to provide a home for invertebrates. Collect rainwater and use it in your garden instead of taking clean water from the pipes. Build a pond.

But I don’t like gardening.

You don’t have to. Just leave some parts of your garden to grow - especially in Spring - and you will be helping nature. Nature likes mess. Keep it wild.

Will that really make a difference?

One habitat is better than no habitats. If 10 people read this and add flowering plants to their gardens, that’s 10 more places for insects to thrive. If 1,000 people do that, that’s 1,000 more places. A garden with one bee is better than a garden with no bees.

My garden’s made of astroturf.

Ew. Get rid of it.

What if I don’t have a garden?

Get yourself a window box and plant some flowers to help passing insects. Or join a local conservation group to help build habitats in public green spaces like parks and nature reserves.

Will that cost me money?

Nope. Environmental and conservation groups are always looking for volunteers.

Shouldn’t we be using green space to grow food?

Agriculture depends on healthy insect populations and nutrient-rich soils to grow crops. By giving space for nature, we also increase crop yields. The best organic farmers grow food hand in hand with natural systems. You can support them by buying your food from your local farmers’ market.

My town doesn’t have a farmers’ market.

Yes it does, you just haven’t ever looked for it before. The vegetables from your local farms will taste better than the plastic-wrapped stuff that’s flown from across the world, too. Which reminds me, eating more vegetables and less meat and dairy is an easy win to reduce emissions too. The meat industry emits a lot of methane - a powerful greenhouse gas - and relies on deforestation to create pasture for cattle. Chemicals used in the industry also run off into our waterways, killing river life.

Don’t we also need space for crops?

Not as much as for cattle. We can use that extra space to rewild land and restore ecosystems, which recycles nutrients into the soil, which increases crop yields.

But veganism is part of the liberal woke agenda!

You don’t have to go full vegan to make a difference, just stop eating meat every day.

Buying food from my farmers’ market is more expensive than the supermarket.

Yeah, but the money is also going directly to the farmers instead of CEOs. Besides, you can save money by reducing what you spend on garbage you don’t need.

But I want to spend my money on clothes hauls from Shein and Boohoo.

Those clothes are trash and end up in the bin after a month. Buy less, buy better. Buy good quality stuff from ethical brands that minimise their impact on the environment. Buy to last. Repair broken items instead of just buying new ones. Buy second-hand to support the circular economy. You can get great clothes for basically nothing on sites like Vinted.

Sounds like communism to me.

Wanting to live a healthy life on a healthy planet is not communism.

Anything else I can do?

Talk about it. Most people are aware the environment is in crisis, but don’t know how to help. Support environmental organisations like WWF, World Land Trust, Fauna & Flora, The Wildlife Trusts, Client Earth, Greenpeace, The Nature Conservancy, Rainforest Alliance, Marine Conservation Society, Rewilding Britain, and all the many more local and international groups of people working tirelessly to prevent more damage being done to our world.

This all feels like a lot.

It is. But there’s great stuff happening everywhere. I live in the Lea Valley in the UK, and hundreds of volunteers have worked to bring the river back to life in just a couple of years. “Kestrels, weasels, shrews, wood mice and other small mammals had been slowly disappearing from around the River Lea until hundreds of volunteers began rebuilding their ecosystems with piles of logs, artificial food caches and by selectively cutting trees, known as coppicing.” You can read more here. And check out this awesome film of the whole project here. If they can do it, we can do it.

If I had to do just one thing to make a difference, what would it be?

Don’t waste. Don’t waste food, don’t waste water, don’t waste energy, don’t waste money on mindless consumerism. If everyone reduced their waste we’d cut our negative impact massively.

I’d rather sit on the couch and play video games.

Me too. But this problem isn’t going away if we keep ignoring it. Living in a society means we have a shared responsibility to look out for each other. But the world doesn’t need 100 perfect activists. It needs millions of imperfect activists. Nothing I’ve mentioned here today is difficult. It just needs people to show some altruism.

What does altruism mean?

It means caring about other people.

What if it’s all for nothing?

Nothing in life is guaranteed. You have to work to protect what you love. And things don’t have to be perfect. But they can be better.

Image: Thomas Winward