On the 22nd June Wild Card joined a passionate community of environmentalists, climate scientists and nature enthusiasts in central London as official supporters of the Restore Nature Now march. We united with over 150 supporting organisations – The Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB, the Woodland Trust, etc – to deliver five key messages to our government:

1. A pay rise for nature

Nature can’t be restored without sufficiently supporting the hardworking farmers that manage 70% of UK land. We need to double the budget for nature and climate-friendly farming.

2. Make polluters pay

Huge polluting businesses contribute hugely to environmental decline. We want to see companies from water to retail contribute to nature and climate recovery, following new rules that hold them to higher standards and end the usage of fossil fuels. 

3. More space for nature

The rights of our green spaces are increasingly under threat. Of all UK land and water, only 3% and 8% are properly protected, respectively. To regenerate our natural environment and meet our climate commitments, we need to expand and improve protected areas, and ensure public land and National Parks contribute more to recovery.

4. A right to a healthy environment

Limited access to nature, and pollution in the air and water, affects everyone’s health. We’re calling for an Environmental Rights Bill which would drive better decisions for nature and improve public health by keeping our environment free of nasty chemicals and gatekeepers.

5. Fair and effective climate action

We cannot save nature without solving the climate crisis. We want investment in warm homes and lower bills by increasing home energy efficiency, supporting active travel and public transport, and replacing polluting fossil fuels with affordable renewables to ensure we at least halve UK emissions by 2030.

As Wild Card it’s important to us to express solidarity in demanding a nature-first approach to policymaking in the age of the climate crisis – especially less than two weeks before a general election. In the spirit of optimistic change, we donned our flags and wild cardigans and headed to Hyde Park Corner. 

Walking from Grosvenor’s Square we were met with a wall of colour lining the streets. Entire ecosystems of paper mache butterflies, bumblebees and birds of all kinds – including the RSPB’s very impressive avocet – reinstated their rightful places in the otherwise industrial London. Amidst the singing and dancing and colourful displays we weaved our way through the dense crowd towards the ‘woods’ block of the march, one of four sections each representative of different elements of nature. Behind us followed the water, land and air blocks. 

With our not-so-little band of forest creatures we listened to so many fantastic speakers, including our friend Guy Shrubsole and the eleven year old Henry (@naturetasticwh on instagram), whose speech was responsible for my first happy cry of the event PIC. We were also blessed by poets, writers and activists who kept energies high before we began our march to Parliament Square.

There was, however, one thing about the Restore Nature Now march that struck me as peculiar: the lack of mainstream media presence. Marching through central London it became increasingly apparent that, bar representatives from our own groups, few others were broadcasting this gigantic turnout, which final figures suggest was close to 60,000 people. 60,000 people in attendance and no helicopters; no big reporters; nothing except one ambitious journalist from Chris Packham’s team armed with an iPhone. It was disheartening. I couldn’t help but think that this huge, peaceful, even celebratory march of climate activists wasn’t interesting to the press because it simply didn’t fit the narrative they’ve created for us. 

Yet this didn’t stifle the infectious optimism tangible in the streets. As the clouds dissipated upon the crowd’s arrival to parliament square, the vibrant hues of tissue paper wings and cardboard petals caught the sun and reinvigorated the crowd for the mainstage speeches. Top of the call list was Steve Backshall, former host of the BBC’s Deadly 60 and, as it turns out, a big nature guy. Even more inspiring, though, was the diversity of voices present on the mainstage. Nine year old Aneeshwar (@aneeshwar_wild_planet on instagram) caused my second happy cry of the day; amazonian activist Nemonte Nenquimo (@nemonte.nenquimo) of the Waorani nation represented nature’s indigenous stewards and the climate choir (@climatechoirs), joined by Kimwei (@kimweimccarthy), soundtracked the lineup. 

Of course, the best moment of the whole day was when a peregrine made a surprise appearance, to maybe the most enthusiastic audience it’d ever had. 

Just imagine the sound of 60,000 people excitedly stirring and pointing at the sky. Overlapping whispers of “where is it?”, “can you see it?”, followed by an awe-inspiring silence as all eyes watched the bird swoop down through the Houses of Parliament. More than 60,000 people watching one bird, together. It was at that moment that I was glad the sky hadn’t been swarming with press helicopters, and it didn’t matter anyway – because the mainstream media may not have been watching, but nature was.

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