#129: Lockdowns and our changing relationship with nature

In 2021, the Office for National Statistics released a report following some research on how the lockdowns had impacted on people's relationship with nature.

There are quite a few useful aspects to this report which might be relevant for those teachers who want to provide a slightly more nuanced treatment of the likely themes in any draft specification.

Consider this quote for example:

Nature has been a source of solace for many, as lockdown rules have heightened our appreciation for local parks and green spaces.

During the lockdown, I started to create a collaborative Google document which captured a range of stories on the Pandemic.

This resource is still available for anyone to view here.

I hope that this particular period of history will not be repeated, although it did at least temporarily reduce the amount of carbon emissions that we all created - although the legacy has been 'revenge tourism' and an ever-growing fleet of delivery lorries. We seem to have bought into the habit of letting other people do our shopping for us.

Image: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license

#44: Climate Change Insights report from the ONS

The Office for National Statistics produces a quarterly report which provides the results of surveys which they have carried out with a healthy number of respondents. 

One was published in May 2023 which may be of interest and relevance to those who are exploring the impacts of the climate emergency on the natural world. 

Good to see 73% of adults in Great Britain are concerned about the loss of natural habitats or wildlife - above the 64% worried about the impact of climate change in the latest @ONS data. Both matter, but wildlife loss has had much less attention: https://t.co/tTKeGek2zY pic.twitter.com/DhDEVTkxz8

— Miles Richardson (@findingnature) May 12, 2023

Almost two-thirds (64%) of adults in Great Britain said they were worried (somewhat or very) about the impact of climate change in the past 12 months.

Of those who said they were worried, around three-quarters (74%) said that they were concerned about the impact on future generations; this was highest among those aged 70 years and over (83%).

The most recent decade, 2013 to 2022, has seen an increase of 26% in the annual average number of summer days and a 16% decrease in icing days (days where the air temperature does not go above freezing) in the UK compared with the 1991 to 2020 average.

Charts can also be obtained from the report's page.