Thank goodness for spring.

The birds chiming, the daffodils blooming, the lambs leaping.

We Brits find it impossible to walk past someone without commenting on the weather: "Isn't it a lovely day!" we find our mouths opening to say without thought.

Let's flash back to March 2020, there was a rumble about this new virus that was getting closer to home each day and we were about to embark on the strangest and scariest year of many of our lives.

Anxiety was high, lockdown was neigh, and all of us found ourselves saying: "But thank goodness it is spring".

This year has taught us a huge amount, from who we are to what we value most in life.

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We have realised who we need close to us to feel whole, where we need to be to feel safe, whether our relationships are working, what our priorities are, and mostly, that we really love the pub.

As it turns out, you don't need to travel the world to find yourself, but rather the opposite - you just need to stay home for a bit. This year has shaped many of us more than any year prior.

We have learnt to be kinder, gentler, more generous. We have become more educated and open minded. But mostly, we have learnt how much our immediate environment affects us.

It a time when all we could do was exercise within our local area, never has the natural environment had such a noticeable impact on our mental health.

Mother nature has come through to support us when we needed her most, so let's return the favour. Let's care for her in the same way we have cared for one-another during the past year.

It is no secret that some parts of nature is thriving without us in it.

Satellite images have shown nitrogen dioxide emissions fading away over Italy and other places, humpback whales could be benefiting from the lack of cruise ships, and wild bees are thought to be able to smell their flowers better due to less air pollution.

So when we make our glamorous return to reality in June, it is possible that we could do this less fiercely than before?

Whilst the greatest environmental changes have to come from the top companies and politicians, it is all too easy to say this and so it is used far too often.

We have made plenty of sacrifices over the past year, so let's continue with that same generosity and spirit.

This is our chance to make a fresh start, making changes to our lifestyles which become second nature.

The food we eat, the companies we use, the clothes we buy, the waste we create...

What you do now may not impact your life directly, but it will impact your son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, or friend.

Don't wait for other people to make the changes for you, don't say one thing and do another just to please and impress the person in front of you.

If you can do small things to help the environment, why wouldn't you do them?

It all comes down to love, and the way communities have pulled together to help one-another this year has shown we have plenty of it to give.

So let's take that same action in our fight in the climate emergency.