The hushing sound of the ocean, the warmth of the cool breeze as it glides over the face, the gentle chirping sound of the birds from faraway, the very fine sands by the seas, the admiration of the vastness of the oceans, the swaying movement of the branches of trees, the colorful and beautiful flowers all competing for fineness, the greenness of the forests at the rise of the early morning sun, the sight of wildlife inhabitants interacting and living together in harmony. Nature in its fullness is everything bright and ‘beautyfull’.
Perhaps, not beautiful enough, as nature weeps for its survival on a daily basis; the once beautiful serene has been made to bend on its knees, seeking repatriation. How can a mother hurt her own child? The question remains boldly asked as the days go by. Sadly, the deterioration continues to gain more strength and also advance in worrying figures as the environment continue to hurt. Our wildlife suffers, our oceans are weeping, and even the once fresh air we used to breathe, have become polluted. Trees are being cut every day as we indirectly continue to push our wildlife into extinction.
We cannot help but appreciate the advances science has made over the years in helping us to better understand how nature affects us all directly and indirectly, from the food we eat, to the cloth we wear, the water we drink, the places we go to and even our responses to natural occurrences. Most of those, who are the first to suffer when nature is threatened by climate change and pollution, are those who are residents in rural areas. Due to the fact that they are more connected to nature than those in urban areas and more so, their source of livelihood is basically dependent on the natural ecosystem around them.
Just like the worth of an item may sometimes be taken for granted until it goes missing. Humans have done same to nature and gradually, the response from nature itself is now threatening. Natural disasters all over the world have their roots in the challenges we face due to the impacts of climate change.
The United Nations’ has set aside the 5th of June as a way of encouraging worldwide awareness and taking positive actions on issues bordering on the environment and it’s good news that over the years, it has been embraced by more than 100 countries. Aside the fact that people generally contribute towards the environment positively on a daily basis, the world environment day is a special day particularly set aside, where everyone from all corners of the world will all, at different locations, do something positive for the environment.
The awareness basically is for people to know that it is our collective responsibility to keep protecting the environment, hoping that with all our joint efforts will yield exponential impact on the long run.
Connecting people to nature is a quest not just to reach out to nature but a bid to protect the coming generation from harm.
“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, so my child may have peace.” – Thomas Paine
This quote alone signifies everything environment stakeholders have all been doing and in fact hoping that the trouble even in our own days can be averted. It will involve everyone taking a step further and going out to protect the earth we all live in. We cannot deny the fact that we need to encourage people from other walks of life to actively participate and become change agents towards environmental issues.
In order to make our environment safer and cleaner, June 5 is a day we all need to step out and do the needful for a more prosperous future. Plant a tree here, plant a tree there and ‘Viola!’ a forest is born.
More than connecting, we need to stay connected.