03/02/2025
đ Remember When We Actually Gave a Sh*t About Our Planet? đ
Iâm not that old, but I remember a time when caring for the environment wasnât just a footnote. As a kid, I was constantly entering poster competitions in primary school, urging people not to litter or pollute. I was about 8 when I first learned about the ozone layer and how aerosols were damaging it. It felt like a huge deal, and it was.
I remember the small, everyday acts that showed we cared: rinsing out milk bottles for collection, stacking old newspapers for recycling. On summer days, Iâd count bees, butterflies, and frogs, learning to identify them by sight. Fast forward a few decades, and I barely recognise the planet I grew up on. So much has been sacrificed in the name of human âadvancement.â
Back in 2018, The Wind in the Willows was reimagined to spotlight just how far weâve fallen. Narrated by icons like Sir David Attenborough and Stephen Fry, it showed Toad, Ratty, and Mole struggling in a world of urban sprawl, polluted rivers, and mountains of discarded junk. One haunting scene featured Toad mourning a puffin tangled in plastic, while another showed him surveying a wasteland of old tyres and trash.
And it wasnât just fiction. The Wildlife Trusts revealed heartbreaking stats alongside the film:
đ Only 20% of Britainâs rivers are considered healthy.
đ Water volesâRattyâs real-life counterpartâare the UKâs most threatened mammal, wiped out from 94% of the places they once thrived.
Sir David Attenborough said it best: âWeâve damaged our rivers, built too many roads, and lost too many ponds and meadows.â He reminded us that we know how to fix it. We can restore rivers, protect habitats, and create space for wildlife. But where are the ambitious laws? Whereâs the urgency to make it happen?
Stephen Fryâs words from the same campaign still ring in my ears: âThis version of Wind in the Willows really, really matters. We all need to rise up and call for a wilder futureâotherwise itâll be too late.â
That was only five years ago. Since then, the climate crisis has accelerated, wildlife numbers have plummeted, and weâre watching species vanish in real-time. Itâs overwhelming, isnât it? Wars, greed, divisive politicsâsometimes it feels like hope is slipping through our fingers.
But hereâs the thing: Iâll keep trying. Even if itâs not enough. Even if it feels like a drop in the ocean. Because trying is all we can do, and maybeâjust maybeâitâll be enough to inspire someone else to do the same.
What do you remember about the world before this? What will you try to save for the generations yet to come? Letâs talk about it.