To adapt to the changing climate, nature needs, above all things, people. People to be amazed, people to care, people to act, people to enthuse others, people to do research, people to spread the word.

Vicnature2050 urges us all to listen for the values others find in nature, engage people wherever they connect with nature, and work together for the common cause.

Parklands Rangers encounter a huge range of people in our regional bush parks, experiencing nature in so many different ways; bushwalkers and runners, birdwatchers, photographers, students, researchers, picnicking families – the list goes on. The ways in which we see people valuing nature are many and varied, and we can empathise with all of them, because nature connects us.

Now is the time to call that connection out. Nature needs us all to step up and help to engage the people in our circles with nature again. We don’t all need to be experts, just to reacquaint ourselves with nature in the ways we do best, put our own skills to use and bring others along with us. Nature needs our attention.

Next time you catch up with a friend, why not make a point of noticing nature, talking about it, acknowledging how you value it. Such small actions can spark a bigger conversation, sow a seed. From little things…