Only connect!

By Emma Chaplin

Communications Officer

Connections, and a sense of community, matter. We need them to thrive.

Many people know Only Connect as the name of a great quiz show. Who doesn't love Victoria Coren Mitchell? But the phrase, complete with exclamation mark, originally comes from EM Forster's novel Howard's End. 

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, this year with a theme of connecting to nature. Which luckily has always been available to us, even through windows, despite being a strange year for 'connecting' in every other sense. 

Turnstones © Sean Stones

There were times, during lockdown, that it felt as if everyone was doing their daily exercise walk around the same circuit, a bit like prison exercise. So it's been a huge relief to be able to venture a little further afield again. Meeting others outside, admittedly recently, in the coldest spring weather that I can remember, is a delight. Being face-to-face feels noticeably different, and our internal social 'well' gets refilled in a different way. A proper tonic. 

All the interactions via Zoom and Teams are useful, but sometimes extremely draining. Lots of people have felt isolated, missed their classmates, colleagues, fellow choir members or whatever. Some, including carers and parents, have felt trapped. Many have struggled with mental health and are still struggling, and it's not always easy to express that. You might feel, with a global pandemic, that your world feeling rather flat, grey and gloomy doesn't matter. But it does. There isn't a league table of woes, where you only count if you've suffered a terrible tragedy. Ordinary unhappiness matters. Loneliness matters. If you feel awful, YOU matter.

The Mens © Mark Monk Terry 

My colleagues and I have tried our very hardest this year to offer everyone, whatever their circumstances, as much access to nature digitally as we possibly could. This has come in the form of a hugely increased output in terms of our social media content, as well as many contributions from others, including Barry Yates' beautiful seasonal videos from Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, great photos and videos from our Nature Table members, Michael Blencowe's daily Lockdown Diaries, James Duncan's species blogs and the creation of a brand new (for us) series of webinars. I've been lucky enough to interview many members and contributors this year, and it's been a pleasure getting to know you and having the privilege of sharing your photos.

 © Sue Robinson

It is great that some normality is now returning. Most of us have the chance to get outside again on a more regular basis, beyond our immediate environs, and experience wildlife in the raw for ourselves.

We will adapt to this in terms of our content, of course, continuing to support everyone who follows us every way we can. We've loved seeing your garden bird photos, hearing your updates on visiting hedgehogs, tadpoles and foxes, as well as sharing your delight at finding a newly bloomed wildflower. 

Swifts at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Please stay in touch - we very much enjoy our connection with you.  

And in June, we're inviting everyone who would like to, to connect with nature and with us by signing up for 30 Days Wild. It's free, and the idea is that you do something relating to nature every day. Feels daunting? Don't let it be. It's for fun and we'll help by coming up with ideas, which you're welcome to ignore! You can just look out of your window on a tea break and notice a tree in bud, a bee on a flower or a bird flying overhead. 

Some of us may have felt isolated this last year, but nature has always been there. We just need to take a bit of time to remember and pay attention to it.