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Climate Emergency

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The Future Forest Company: Innovative solutions to tackle the climate crisis

Up in Dalry, Scotland lie 430 acres of land that before May 2020 were covered top to toe with degraded soil. But over the past five months, we&#8217;ve worked with <a href="https://thefutureforestcompany.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Future Forest Company</a> to bring the land back to life. We sat down with Jim Mann, co-founder of FFC to learn about the variety of natural climate solutions they&#8217;re utilising at the site, along with how the forest is getting on.
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You can also catch more of the interview on our Youtube channel.

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First things first, let&#8217;s introduce you to The Future Forest Company. In 2019 Jim and his co-founder Jade Read started FFC so they could dedicate their time fully to the ultimate goal of reversing climate change through mass reforestation. But what makes FFC so unique is that alongside their reforestation they create and run &#8216;forest friendly sustainable business that balance both purpose and profit. You can learn more about their mission and business <a href="https://thefutureforestcompany.com/what-we-do/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here on their website. </a>
But to us FFC are our beloved <a href="https://ecologi.com/">tree planting</a> partners in the UK and are responsible for the last 5000-10,000 trees we have <a href="https://ecologi.com/projects/reforesting-dalry-scotland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">planted up in Scotland</a>. They were founded with the aim of tackling climate change through reforestation projects and other means of drawing down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They buy degraded land and plant it up with forests using a native species mix, and then do all they can to protect the land so that the forests can survive for hundreds to thousands of years.

When we sat down with Jim we were keen to hear an explanation of the history of the land we&#8217;re reforesting together. &#8220;Our site in Scotland was formerly an upland pasture farm. The sheep and cows on this farm over-grazed the land, leaving it with poor soil quality and a significant lack of biodiversity.&#8221;  The team has been busy planting your trees to change this land for the better, planting 6000 new trees in October alone. As these trees grow they help to improve the soil biology. Leaf drop every year adds the fertility back into the soil and other life starts to move back in, first bacteria, then insects and then further up the food chain. According to Jim, the site is now overrun with voles that have brought birds of prey back to the area. &#8220;You now see hen harriers, an endangered species, regularly on site, when before the sighting of a bird of prey was rare. This is yet another sign that the land is already starting to recover&#8221;. 
Another way that the FFC are improving the biodiversity of our forest is to wild grazing of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2W_vgHY3Z/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wooly pigs.</a> This is not only extremely cute but they also encourage rapid recover of the local biodiversity. Having livestock such as pigs living and grazing on the same land where trees are planted is a technique called <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/agroforestry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agroforestry</a>. These pigs churn up the soil, which allows the seed bank to come up to the surface, improving the species diversity of the forests.  One problem that can be common in forests in the UK is that bracken can take over the area. This forms a thick mat of dead bracken, which suffocates the other plants. Over a number of years, bracken can completely take over the area, leading to a poor mix of species. That’s where the pigs come in. They trample and clear the bracken, giving space for new life to push through it. The manure that the pigs produce also helps to add nutrition to the soils, working as a natural fertiliser for the trees.

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Innovative solutions to tackle climate change

One of the really interesting things that we found out whilst talking to Jim was that the team are also investigating other methods of capturing carbon dioxide, to use alongside planting forests. For example, they have been experimenting with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar#:~:text=Biochar%20is%20charcoal%20that%20is,soil%20for%20thousands%20of%20years." target="_blank" rel="noopener">biochar </a>which is another way of storing carbon. Biochar is a charcoal-like product that is produced from taking biomass and burning it in the absence of oxygen (a process called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/pyrolysis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pyrolysis</a>). This biomass can be any carbon product, including forest waste, straw or even cardboard or paper. Typically, the organic matter used is agricultural residue, forestry waste and animal manure. The biochar that is produced has an enormous amount of carbon locked up inside of it – it is between 75-90% pure carbon. After being produced, the biochar is crushed up and spread amongst the forest floor, distributing the captured carbon.  This is where the magic comes in, normally biomass would rot down, which would then release CO2 and methane into the atmosphere. But through the process of creating biochar, the gases are stored within the soil. Research suggests that this carbon can remain stored in the soil for many centuries. 
What’s more, the application of biochar can help the soils to recover even if it&#8217;s extremely degraded. This means that once a sapling is planted and the biochar is spread the sapling will have an extra boost, helping it to grow big and strong.
Another interesting fact about biochar is that it acts as a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/soil-amendment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soil amendment</a>, creating a platform for bacteria to colonise and thrive. This helps with the process of attracting new life to the area and improving biodiversity. Biochar also improves the drainage of soils and helps with water retention in times of drought. So, biochar application has the potential to take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide benefits to the soil- this is a win-win situation for the land, the trees and the local life.
Research within the scientific literature suggests that biochar application has the potential to remove up to <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aabf9f/pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11.9 GTCO2</a> from the atmosphere each year if it becomes a widely adopted practice. The Future Forest Company are in the process of appointing a Biochar Project Manager who will be managing the set-up of their Biochar Project on the Glanaros Estate on Mull.

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Another technique for drawing in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that the team is experimenting with is <a href="https://earth.org/enhanced-weathering-for-carbon-capture/#:~:text=Enhanced%20weathering%20is%20a%20carbon,are%20weighed%20against%20the%20benefits." target="_blank" rel="noopener">enhanced weathering</a>. Now this is not to be mistaken with your every day &#8216;Weathering&#8217; which is the process whereby rocks are broken down physically into smaller rocks, then sand, mud and clay. Due to a large amount of  CO2 in our atmosphere, our rain is acidic. This acidic rain reacts with rocks and soils it lands on, gradually breaking them down into minute grains and forming bicarbonate. This is then transported to the ocean by rivers and eventually forms carbonate rocks with the carbon locked up inside of them. Natural rock weathering is one of the most important ways that CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere are kept stable over geological time and it absorbs around 0.3% of global fossil fuel emissions.
Enhanced weathering involves increasing the scale and the rate of natural weathering in order to take in more CO2. This involves grinding up large amounts of rocks and spreading them over regions where <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/weathering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chemical weathering</a> occurs naturally. These rocks will react with rainwater and absorb the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, permanently locking it away. Scientific studies suggest that applying this rock to the soils can also improve soil health, boosting nutrient levels and helping to restore degraded agricultural soils.  
This process of enhanced weathering is less advanced than the use of biochar in reforestation. Although the science is reasonably well established, how it works in the field is less well understood. However, it is well established that this technique has a huge potential for carbon capture and storage. CO2 taken in is stored permanently, and studies have shown that there are 430 billion tonnes worth of carbon removal under the UK. Of course, not all of this is extractable (we can’t start digging up mountains), but it represents a big potential for mitigating climate change. One point of contention with enhanced weathering is that it requires a huge amount of energy for extracting, grinding up and transporting the rock. If this technique became more widely established, it would be really important to try and ensure this energy comes from renewable sources.

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There's lots of exciting possibilities ahead

From this conversation with Jim we&#8217;ve now found a greater appreciation for their work and a new knowledge of the diverse ways in which we can capture carbon beyond planting trees. What’s more, is that these natural solutions not only work wonderfully by themselves but when paired with reforestation they can multiply the environmental benefits. In the interview, Jim highlighted that he and his team place a big emphasis on getting things done quickly, as we need to draw CO2 out of the air as fast as possible to stop the climate crisis. These technologies may provide a way for regenerating forests and planting trees to have even more of an impact.
We want to thank Jim for his time, and to thank the entire team at The Future Forests Company for their tireless innovative work. And thank you to everyone from our community who has supported our UK forests.

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At Ecologi we believe that bringing nature back to our planet is really important, and is one of the best things that we can do to help tackle the climate crisis. Restoring forests can help reverse species’ extinction, tackle climate change and also improve our <a href="https://www.forestryengland.uk/wellbeing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health and wellbeing</a>.  There are many different ways in which forests and ecosystem restoration can be done. Two examples are reforestation and rewilding. 
Often the terms reforestation and rewilding are used interchangeably, however there are some key differences between the two.

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Definition
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<li>Reforestation is the planting of trees in areas where there has historically been tree cover. </li>
<li>Rewilding is the large-scale restoration of ecosystems (wetlands, peatlands, forests etc) to the point where nature is allowed to take care of itself. </li>
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Ecosystems
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<li>Reforestation focuses on trees. These trees then grow and provide wildlife habitats, clean air and shade. </li>
<li>Rewilding works across the whole ecosystem level, restoring natural function in all trophic levels. It can involve the reintroduction of species such as beavers or wolves.</li>
</ul>

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Method
<ul>
<li>Reforestation involves the manual planting of trees by humans.</li>
<li>Rewilding leaves an area alone for natural regeneration where possible e.g. seed dispersal leading to regeneration of trees.  </li>
</ul>

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Location
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<li>Reforestation can happen anywhere where there has historically been a forest.</li>
<li>Rewilding works best on lightly degraded sites, or those close to existing forests that can serve as sources of seed. </li>
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Species mix
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<li>Reforestation chooses which species to plant. It should be done using a mixture of native species, including rare and endangered ones where possible.</li>
<li>Rewilding can be difficult to predict in advance, in terms of the exact trajectory of revegetation (i.e. species mix, location and density).</li>
</ul>

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Community involvement
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<li>Reforestation can work alongside initiatives to boost local economies &#8211; e.g. agroforestry, sustainable generation of wood products, or ecotourism.  </li>
<li>Rewilding involves leaving nature to its own devices, without human intervention. </li>
</ul>

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Biodiversity impact
<ul>
<li>Reforestation can benefit biodiversity if native, diverse tree species are planted (responsible reforestation), rather than monocultures of cultivated trees. </li>
<li>Rewilding always works to restore the native biodiversity of the area. </li>
</ul>

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Climate impact
<ul>
<li>Reforestation creates planted forests which take in CO2 from the atmosphere if sufficient protection measures are put in place. </li>
<li>Rewilding creates restored ecosystems which take in CO2 from the atmosphere if sufficient protection measures are put in place. </li>
</ul>

<h2>Reforestation </h2>
Reforestation is a key tool in helping to tackle the climate crisis, particularly the reforestation of tropical forests. Tropical forests have suffered extensive destruction, fragmentation, degradation and depletion of biodiversity. Once covering <a href="https://drawdown.org/solutions/tropical-forest-restoration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">12% of the world&#8217;s landmass, they now cover just 5%.</a> Reforestation works to restore previous forest cover, by cultivating and planting seedlings. 
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In order to have benefits, both for biodiversity and for carbon sequestration, this reforestation needs to be done responsibly. Forest researchers recently found that within the <a href="https://www.bonnchallenge.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bonn Challenge</a>, a global goal to restore 350 million hectares of degraded ecosystems by 2030,<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01026-8?utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_source=commission_junction&amp;utm_campaign=3_nsn6445_deeplink_PID100062364&amp;utm_content=deeplink" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 45% of forest restoration commitments </a>involved monoculture plantations of fast growing trees. These are usually intended for harvest, and are ecologically poor and store little carbon. Reforestation needs to be done with a native and diverse mix of species in order to boost the biodiversity of the area, and efficient protection measures must be put in place to ensure that the forest persists for long periods of time, instead of being cut down to produce timber. 
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At Ecologi, our key tree-planting sites are tree-planting projects in Madagascar, Mozambique and Nicaragua. The trees planted are a wide mixture of native species, and our tree-planting partners <a href="https://edenprojects.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eden Reforestation</a> work carefully with all levels of government to protect the forests. They also employ forest guards to monitor the area, and engage the local community with the forest by employing local villagers to plant and care for the trees. You can read more about our tree planting projects <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/updates/year-2-of-the-ecologi-forests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here. </a>
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The UK has recently made commitments to increase its forest cover, pledging to plant 30,000 new hectares of trees each year as part of the<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-outlines-his-ten-point-plan-for-a-green-industrial-revolution-for-250000-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 10- point plan for a green industrial revolution</a> published in December 2020. Increasing tree cover is especially important in Britain, of which only <a href="https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/support-rewilding/our-campaigns-and-issues/natural-regeneration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13% is forested</a>. This is compared to<a href="https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/support-rewilding/our-campaigns-and-issues/natural-regeneration" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 40% for the EU and 46% of Europe</a> as a whole. So we need more trees and woodland, but we must ensure these are planted in a responsible way. This is why we also now have two UK specific tree-planting projects, planting trees in Scotland, and in the South-West of England. You can read more about our UK reforestation projects <a href="https://ecologi.com/projects/reforestation-projects-in-the-uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

<h2>Rewilding </h2>
Rewilding involves leaving nature alone as much as possible to recover by itself without human intervention. It is defined as the large-scale restoration of ecosystems to the point in which nature is allowed to take care of itself, and seeks to reinstate natural processes, and where possible missing species, allowing them to influence the ecosystems and shape the habitats within them. Rewilding is not designed to reach a specific end point or final ecosystem, but goes wherever nature takes it. 
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All degraded ecosystems can be rewilded and rewilding can involve interactions at all levels. <a href="https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rewilding Britain</a> calculates that restoring native woodland, peat bogs, heaths and species-rich grasslands over a total of six million hectares could sequester <a href="https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/blog/new-report-how-restoring-nature-can-help-decarbonise-the-uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">47 million tonnes of CO2 per year</a>. This is more than 1/10th of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. 
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Rewilding can often involve the reintroduction of a species into an area. A classic example of rewilding is the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/25/yellowstone-wolf-project-25th-anniversary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in the US.</a> When westerners first arrived at this park in the 1920s, they very quickly hunted wolves to extinction. In the 1990s wolves started to be reintroduced into Yellowstone in order to control the elk populations. The elk and deer populations started responding immediately. Within about 10 years, willows rebounded. Within 20 years, the aspen began flourishing. Riverbanks stabilized and songbirds returned, as did beavers, eagles, foxes and badgers. They have restored the natural function of the ecosystem and biodiversity has flourished. 25 years later, this is heralded as one of the world’s most successful rewilding stories. 
 
In the case of forest ecosystems, rewilding typically involves releasing land from non-forest use, such as growing crops or damming a valley, and letting a young forest rise up on its own. As the forest ecosystem recovers, trees, soil, leaf litter and other vegetation absorb and hold carbon. As functions are restored, the forest regains its multidimensional roles, supporting the water cycle, conserving soil, protecting habitat and pollinators and providing food, medicine and fibres. 
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An example of where elements of rewilding have been incorporated into our tree-planting projects is the woolly pigs that are used to help restore ecosystem functions to our forest sites in <a href="https://ecologi.com/projects/reforesting-dalry-scotland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dalry, Scotland</a>. These pigs churn up the soil, allowing the seed bank to come to the surface and improving the species diversity of the forests. The pigs also trample and clear bracken, creating space for new life to push through it.

<h2>Both are needed… </h2>
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01026-8?utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_source=commission_junction&amp;utm_campaign=3_nsn6445_deeplink_PID100062364&amp;utm_content=deeplink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Some scientists</a> argue that rewilding should be the default approach, and that we shouldn’t be planting trees at all, but instead let woodlands grow back through the process of natural regeneration. However whilst rewilding is extremely important and provides many benefits to the natural areas, there are places where rewilding simply isn’t likely to occur; such as in land far away from seed sources, or in urban parks. 
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Additionally there are large areas where natural regeneration would take a long time, even many decades, due to limited access to seed sources. We know that as we face both the climate and biodiversity crisis, time is of the essence. We therefore need both reforestation and rewilding in order to help protect the climate and to help biodiversity thrive.

Updates

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At Ecologi we’re often reaching for the celebration klaxon for our community’s impact milestones, but it’s a little different this time around.
Today, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve taken on £4m ($5.7m) of investment led by <a href="https://www.generalcatalyst.com/">General Catalyst</a> to follow our dreams and grow Ecologi to the scale needed to take on climate change in a significant way.
General Catalyst has a knack for turning their investments into household names: AirBnB, Deliveroo, Snapchat, Stripe, and Monzo to name just a few.
We know there’s room for the Spotify of Sustainability, and it’s with the resources of a leading investor that we can make this a reality, in a timeframe suitable for turning the proverbial Titanic around and reversing climate change over the critical decade ahead.
Before we started Ecologi, the idea was that we’d be set up as a non-profit organisation. Our mission is altruistic and that non-profit model aligned with our vision. As half of the world’s emissions have happened within the <a href="https://ieep.eu/news/more-than-half-of-all-co2-emissions-since-1751-emitted-in-the-last-30-years">lifetime of a 30-year-old</a>, there isn’t the luxury of time to grow traditionally through donations and slower ‘organic growth’. But, it didn’t take long to understand that to achieve Spotify-level scale, then you need Spotify-level capital to fulfil our potential impact.
It’s not just a sum of money that we were looking for, but a partner who wholly understands the delicate conditions which Ecologi needs to thrive: putting the planet first; complete transparency; keeping operational costs minimal; and staying ethical (see our decision to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/withdrawing-tech-nations-net-zero-elliot-coad/">withdraw from TechNation</a>).
Amongst 50 or so investors we spoke to, it was General Catalyst who fully understood this ethical tightrope with our long term plans to raise the bar on what it means to be a social enterprise. They gave examples of supporting one of their investments to donate over <a href="https://www.warbyparker.com/buy-a-pair-give-a-pair">eight million prescription glasses</a>; they set up a non-profit fund with excess profits from an ethical investment; also they understood that the future of Ecologi should be part-owned by our community via crowdfunding &#8211; an exciting development to own a stake in Ecologi and our planet too (more details at the end of this post).

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As we approach our 2nd birthday, we enter a new chapter with Ecologi that will be characterised with scale. Up to now, everything has been done on the tightest of budgets with our wonderful but tiny team. We look forward to progressing our climate impact exponentially as we race towards our target to reduce 50% of global emissions by 2040.
There is plenty we have in store. We want to actually show you the impact you’re making through storytelling and technology. We want to support projects that rewild our planet and fund innovative carbon removal technology. We want to show you your carbon footprint in real-time. We want to make good on the opportunity that can come out of rounding up the world’s pocket money and putting it into the world’s most impactful climate solutions.
Now we can, so no excuses! Let’s grow. 🌿
From Elliot, Lucy, Alex and the team here: thank you for your part in supporting this ray of climate hope 💚

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We showed a draft of this announcement to a few of our Ecologi subscribers and friendly critics and asked them what questions they had:
What will you spend the investment on?
Now’s the time to scale up our teams to enhance the platform, grow our climate projects procurement and reporting team, and expand our marketing and partnership teams. We’ll be a company of 40-60 people over the next 12 months. 
The investment will also allow us to buy larger quantities of certified carbon offsets and tree purchases upfront meaning we can plan better, get access to some projects we’d otherwise not be able to, and sometimes access better prices.
Some of the existing staff will be now paid the going rate for their level of expertise. None of the investment is to go on bonuses or dividends. 
Will we still operate Ecologi as we have done?
Absolutely yes.
If we are to be massively successful in our objectives it’s because we took on board everything that you needed us to be.
Is the source of the investment from profits of fossil fuel or high carbon industries?
No. It’s from a combination of pension funds that make investments in technology, and previous technology company profits. 
What is the investor expecting in return?
They will be looking to make a return on their investment, multiple times the amount they put in. And this is something that we can achieve and be entirely compatible with our journey. 
At some point in our future we’ll expect to come to the end of investment rounds and have a few options to suit us: be acquired and taken under the wing of a major future sustainability company; float on the stock market and be publicly owned; or even Ecologi makes their own investments in early-stage climate projects which yield their own returns. It’s far too early to say which financing route will come into effect but be assured that it’ll be a decision made with our mission in mind.
Investors will be expecting no dividends during this journey as any profits are to be reinvested back into the company.
How is Ecologi going to stay ethical?
As we grow, we will have the resources to upgrade our <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dACvzjE5nBE1cKZBAhYzsUa7rIiLJqCWXVgY4bNS8_Q/edit#gid=1742437033">transparency docs</a> and be a lot more verbose about what we’re up to. A quick run-through of what’s coming up: 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">In the queue to be B Corp certified, all prep governance work is complete; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">A bonafide social enterprise with mission locked into our company documents; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Increased detail on our quarterly financial reports such as director salary info; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Regular “our door is always open”-style drop-in to chat with Elliot, the CEO, over Zoom;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Lifting the lid on what we’re up to with a “Building Ecologi” blog series.</li>
</ul>
Every person on the team and now investors included knows that we have our hearts fully set on creating a company that reimagines what it is to be a social enterprise. 
It’s going to take some doing, and bear with us as we get there. But please <a href="https://ecologi.com/pages/contact">drop us a line</a> on how we’re doing, as well maybe subscribe to our new <a href="https://medium.com/building-ecologi">Building Ecologi</a> series where we’ll talk about our plans out in the open and welcome your thoughts.

And finally, we’re thinking of running a crowdfunding campaign later this year. We’d love to <a href="https://ecologi.typeform.com/to/DMMimqA9">ask you five questions</a> that should take less than a minute to answer.

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Do you remember, somewhere in the fog of 2020, that period where the pandemic had seeped into every area of our lives but its exact contours and consequences hadn’t yet been established? That point after the initial panic was over, where people had begun to accept this new reality, and had started to consider where we might go from here? Somehow, amidst the horror of news screens filled with ventilated bodies and death counts scrolling ever upward, hope began to spring. Thoughtful, poetic articles began to emerge online about the deeper meaning of this event. Humanity had been given a chance to pause, to reflect, and perhaps &#8211; against all odds &#8211; change course. There was a cautious, quasi-spiritual sense that the planet was sending us a message, as if Mother Nature had realised that humans were not going to bring themselves back from the brink and was now taking the matter into her own hands. These visions of a better society were complemented by a raft of personal resolutions towards self-improvement: goals were set and new habits were inculcated, with the aim of returning after the pandemic a better you in a better world. It was as if we were all given the opportunity to zoom out, from our own lives but also society as a whole, to decide what was really important.
This sense of optimism seemed to be supported by palpable changes in our environment. Global emissions were down 7%; flights had dropped 96%; there were dolphins in Venice! These cracks of light in the gloom sustained us, made us feel as if the pandemic was really for something (beyond, well, surviving a pandemic). That is, there seemed to be a goal we were working towards, by which we could orientate our present reality, giving it some sense. And this was important. Hope sustains us in times of difficulty. It is the voice which reminds us no pain lasts forever, that the sun also rises.

But it seems that somewhere along the way, this optimism began to give way to something else. Weariness. Disillusionment. As lockdown 2 almost imperceptibly melted into lockdown 3, as the term ‘wave’ began to lose all meaning because the Covid tide had never gone away, darker realities began to set in. Not only did we witness our governments continue to vacillate and send mixed messages, we saw huge opportunities to restructure our economy missed, the same old mistakes from the 2008 financial crisis repeated as ‘too big to fail’ industries such as aviation and steel were bailed out, with no climate-change mitigation requirements built into the rescue packages. Rather than being <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-leveller-trfn-idUSKCN21R30P" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘The Great Leveller’</a>, we saw this pandemic exacerbate existing inequalities, the wealth of the top 1% rising by $8 trillion during the pandemic whilst many ordinary people were reduced to government handouts. Working from home also removed access to an equal workspace and put increased pressure on those facing challenging circumstances in their home environment. And everywhere we looked we found ourselves adrift in a sea of plastic: the take-out diets triple-plastic wrapped to avoid contamination, the delivery packages ordered to punctuate the boredom of lockdown living, and of course the proliferation of that once unknown acronym: PPE. And perhaps most deflating of all, it turned out those dolphins had never been in Venice, that it was a piece of <a href="https://www.2oceansvibe.com/2020/03/23/sorry-but-the-dolphins-that-appeared-in-venice-is-fake-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fake news</a> exploiting the sense of hope in the air.
What happened here? Were we deluded to dream of a better future? Did we imagine something that never really could have been? 
No. It is never wrong to hope. And it did sustain us in those interminable lockdown months. Our error was in putting our hopes on an external event, in this notion that Covid had come to save us, as if it were some sort of geo-biological defense mechanism, the natural arc of history correcting itself. But an event can only be as significant as the responses which it generates. Which is to say, the significance of the pandemic was in the million daily acts of kindnesses which it elicited: the grocery collections for elderly and infirm neighbours, the selfless bravery of the frontline workers putting themselves and their families at risk for the greater good, the proactiveness of those who organised events and other forms of support for the most vulnerable. Without even realising it, without waiting for a sunny day where we would have the type of society that we wanted, we were building it in front of our very eyes. One based on solidarity, equality and community concern (all of which happen to be the very characteristics needed to pull us out of the climate crisis &#8211; since we are all sharing increasingly limited space and resources on this planet). What we needed wasn’t a deus ex machina to solve the problem. What we needed was to see that the world around us is a result of the values we hold as a society, and it is this we need to change. This means remembering that the same essential ties that bound us through the pandemic persist and it is along these ties that change is effected, not some grand narrative happening out there. After all, the planet doesn’t care &#8211; it is humans that will perish, not nature.

The pandemic certainly has and will create short term change. The US government has just initiated an unprecedented $1.9 trillion stimulus package which stands to halve national poverty for example. But if we forget the lessons that Covid taught us about our own ways of life, such socially-minded policies will quickly fade into memory. No cataclysm will prevent business as usual from returning. As the Cree Indian saying goes, “Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money.” We cannot wait for further wildfires, droughts and floods to jostle us into wakefulness. It is only through a wave of individuals coming together into communities, into a global movement, encompassing economics, energy, agriculture, and politics, that a truly sustainable way of life will be achieved. Outward events can point us in the direction, but we must walk the path. The steps need not be huge, but we must continue to take them. Reading or sharing this article. <a href="https://ecologi.com/plan">Subscribing to offset the carbon we produce</a>. Reducing meat consumption, <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/one-small-step-for-you-one-giant-impact-for-humankind">greening our finances</a> or <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/activism-how-the-drops-inside-the-ocean-are-breaking-down-the-dam">joining a movement</a>. Every step counts. But never question that it is you who must walk those steps. Far from being a lonely journey, the more you do, the more you will find the others who are walking it with you.

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