After five weeks of lockdown in the UK, our Project Manager, Hayley, shares some of the ways we can stay connected with nature during these challenging times.

Hi everyone, how are you today?  I say today because I understand it can feel like we are on an emotional rollercoaster in these strange times.  One day it feels as if we’ve mastered this lockdown malarkey with an empty washing basket and a sparkling house, but the next day it’s hard to even raise a smile.  The good news is that it’s OK to feel like this, these are unsettling times for everyone so it’s important to celebrate the small things and stay as connected as possible.

Bird Wise is all about engaging with people and helping them appreciate the amazing birds that visit our stunning coastline every winter.  We do this through our Rangers out on site, through guided walks and talks and by attending festivals and events throughout the year.  So what happens when all of a sudden we must stop face to face engagement?  Well, as Local Authority employees we are essential workers, so working from home we have switched our focus to online engagement. 

Working from home is something I have done fairly regularly but having team meetings online and participating in conference calls has taken some getting used to.  Someone who is embracing lockdown is Ranger Dog Jasper, he’s loving having the family home all day and is being very well behaved, although he lets me know when it’s time for a walk.

I am really fortunate to live within a 10 minute walk from the Medway Estuary and have made the most of this during daily exercise walks with Jasper.  We have been enjoying watching the Brent Geese feeding on the water’s edge, and with less people around they are able to feed and rest without being disturbed, so they have a chance to consume some extra calories before their epic journeys back to Siberia later in the spring.  With less traffic on the road and wonderfully clear, settled weather we have been able to appreciate the beauty of birds singing as spring emerges.

This weekend was wonderful for birds, on Saturday I heard the first Cuckoos of the year and then on Sunday I heard the first Nightingale of the year, and for the first time ever, I managed to take some lovely photographs of it too.  I thought it would be nice to share some of the sights and sounds from these walks on the Bird Wise social media pages and the feedback has been wonderful.  So many people are doing as they have been asked and staying at home to save lives, but are missing the marshes, so we’ve brought the coast to them.

For a lot of people, myself included, getting outdoors in the fresh air and connecting with nature is my happy place, so being away from that is really tough going.  It is so important to look after our mental health, especially in these anxious times, and Mind have some fantastic advice on their website https://www.mind.org.uk/coronavirus-we-are-here-for-you/

Having a small garden to escape to has been a real blessing, when you are used to spending a lot of time outside it makes a real difference to have a little space to escape to rather than staring at a screen all day.  Watching the birds visiting the feeder, which I’m having to keep constantly topped up, or having a splash around in the bird bath has kept me connected with the nature I love.  Like many people, I have compiled a list of all the birds I have spotted during lockdown, either in the garden, over the garden or during daily exercise.  So far I am up to 47 species of bird along with grey squirrels, rabbits, a fox, a mouse that visits the garden and a seal that I spotted on the estuary.

Some people have used lockdown as a chance to explore their creative side, whether it’s creating fun video content with the family, digging out those old paints and pencils and drawing wildlife, or presenting your own wildlife documentaries from home, we’ve seen a wealth of content filling our screens over the past weeks.  This light-hearted fun is a welcome distraction from the seriousness of the situation we are all facing.  Chris Packham has created the Self Isolating Bird Club on Twitter (@SIBirdClub) and hosts regular broadcasts from his New Forest home.  The RSPB are hosting the #BreakfastBirdwatch and encouraging people to share photos and videos of the wildlife they can see from home between 8-9am every weekday.

For the hundreds of thousands of families who have had to turn their homes into schools for their children, a wonderful selection of teaching resources have been made available online.  For people looking to use nature in their lessons, the RSPB, Bird Aware Solent and Project Godwit have some amazing materials that you can download and make learning fun.  Here are some links to those:

https://www.rspb.org.uk/fun-and-learning/for-teachers/lesson-plans-and-supporting-resources/

https://solent.birdaware.org/article/33889/Lockdown-Learning

https://projectgodwit.org.uk/get-involved/schools/materials/

Being an eternal optimist I do my best to try and see the positive in every situation.  Here are a few glimmers of hope that I’ve managed to find over the past few weeks:

• Lockdown means more quality time at home with my lovely dog (and husband)
• I’ve gained a greater appreciation of just how much wildlife can be found in the rather urban environment where I live
• Living within 10 minutes of the estuary makes me very happy
• Birds are getting on with life with far less human recreational disturbance
• The air is less polluted and the skies are clearer and quieter
• Community spirit is alive and well, from clapping for carers to volunteers delivering food parcels, there is amazing work happening all around us right now
• We are so lucky to live in an age where technology is able to help us stay connected with our loved ones from a distance
• It’s OK to have days where you feel a bit sad – pick up the phone or message a friend, even reach out online, talking through your feelings will help to make sense of them.

So, to all the awesome Bird Wise followers, I’ll keep updating our social media feeds and try to help you stay connected to the north Kent marshes.

We will get through this but for now we all need to stay home, stay safe and protect the NHS.

Keep well everyone,

Hayley & Ranger Dog Jasper x