We hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well in your ‘bubbles’. The measures in place to counter the effects of COVID-19 have turned everyone’s worlds upside down, and managing the ongoing uncertainty and changes are making it hard for all. It is a very sad and difficult time for everyone in our global community.

However, many of us our very fortunate because we are able to stay connected with each other using technology. We are exploring different platforms to connect with each other to stay in touch, and learning how to use them in new ways. While it’s not quite the same, being able to meet with friends and family via platforms like Zoom, does enable you to have virtual catch-ups over coffee or to have ‘Zoom-tails’.

It is also a time to think about others and reach out to those who live close to us, especially those who are most vulnerable to the virus. Reading about the ways that people are helping each other makes you appreciate the generosity and kindness of people in our communities. It is heart-warming to see the compassion people are showing as we all work together to get to the other side of the lockdown.

We also need to remember to take some time to care for ourselves. We hope that you have found a place near your home to walk among the trees, or visit a beach or other place, where you can hear the birds sing and the trees rustle. As David Henry Thoreau noted nearly 150 years ago, “We need the tonic of wildness”. He wrote this in his cabin by Walden Pond, which was not far from the busy town of Concord. Thoreau found wildness in what was just about an urban backyard. Like Thoreau said, “We can never have enough of nature”, and we can find nature close to our homes, maybe in ways you hadn’t thought about before. With the unusual gift of time we have been given, we can take the time to slow down and notice our immediate surroundings in different ways and gain solace from nature.

Also, this time gives us an opportunity to reflect on our role as environmental educators. We can think about how the environment and our health are connected and imagine what a new future could look like for us all – a future that is interconnected where we care for each other and for our environment.

We are all in this together. We will get through by relying on each other, sharing our ideas and collaborating in innovative ways.

Ngā mihi mahana me kia kaha

Sally Birdsall, Chris Eames, Anita Anderson, Pam Crisp, Gill Stewart, Robyn Zink, Thom Adams, Marty Taylor and Anneke Mace
NZAEE National Executive

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