A big family day out for nature

Reflections on the Restore Nature Now march

“What do we want?” “Restore nature!” “When do we want it?” “Now!” Our seven-year-old can be very loud, so this was the perfect outlet for his “outside voice” as he marched, placard aloft, at Restore Nature Now.

After weeks of preparation and banner-making, this was it. A big day for wildlife conservation, the coming-together of over 350 groups, unified in calling for nature to be restored. And a big day for our family, as our son took part in his first-ever march.

As Chris Packham said on the day, it’s good to get away from the desk. Many of us in conservation charities work from home nowadays, and even in our own teams we are scattered around the country. So it’s always exciting to find people you’ve only ever met as disembodied heads and shoulders on Microsoft Teams. I’d not seen our Strategic Communications Director, Alex, in real life for a long time and went in for a misjudged hug while holding half a sandwich that I was attempting to feed to our son. Fortunately Alex and the sandwich were unscathed.

It was a long day and a very long walk for the seven-year-old. He was pleased to get a Restore Nature Now sticker. When the chanting had run its course, there was some loud whistling to do. But after that, he vehemently expressed a wish for a change of scenery. Fortunately the march took place alongside Hyde Park and Green Park so we were able to dip in and out for a rest, snacks and throwing a ball around. It was good to see other young families on the march, especially when we found children who enjoyed the obscure ‘Skibidi Toilet’ reference on our little man’s placard.

Incidentally, here’s a top tip for future family marchers: placards that fold/pack away after your adventure make life so much easier. We fixed our cardboard signs to telescopic flag poles bought online and were therefore able to shrink everything down to pop in a re-usable shopping bag.

Back to the march. Each time we rejoined at different points of the parade so we got to see some wonderful signs and costumes, from the RSPB’s massive flapping Avocet puppets to a huge tricycle that had a giant egg timer in its front spokes. There were people with Badger costumes, a few Puffins (including our marine policy colleague Samuel) and several human bumblebees. With echoes of the Birnam Wood advancing on Dunsinane (Macbeth!), there was also a large number of people sporting a lot of green foliage. There was drumming, singing, cheering and clapping.

We arrived at Parliament Square to briefly sample the atmosphere before heading on our way. It felt magical, important, powerful. Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin, along with the RSPB and all the other organisers, had been working incredibly hard to pull this enormous march and rally together. And yet they made the whole event look effortless and kept it upbeat. There is hope. We can do this.

Joining a march of 60,000+ like-minded people is an excellent way to make you feel positive about the future of nature. You remember you’re not alone in your fight to save wildlife and wild places. There’s a wealth of expertise out there, matched with determination and passion. I left Restore Nature Now feeling uplifted, reassured and glad we’d made it a family day out.

Thank you to the organisers, the thousands of RSPB members who joined us on the day and everyone who supported us from afar!

If you’re able, do take the time to watch the short speeches below and hopefully you’ll feel as inspired as I do.

Watch coverage hosted by Megan McCubbin from the Restore Nature Now march in London on 22 June 2024 – special guests include Chris Packham, Feargal Sharkey, Liz Bonnin, Steve Backshall and more! Video: Restore Nature Now