?The world has gone through some huge changes over the last three months.

Socially, economically and emotionally it may take a long time for us – as a human race – to return to the days of ‘old. The coronavirus pandemic has caused us all to think, behave and live differently. Good or bad, we’ve all had to make sacrifices in terms of not spending time with friends and family, cancelling holidays, and not having the ‘freedoms’ that we once had.

Changes have also occurred in the natural environment around us. Due to the near-worldwide lockdown, the planet has had a well-earned rest. Pollution levels are at an all-time-low, wildlife is flourishing and many of us are appreciating the beautiful Somerset countryside more.

But, with lockdown restrictions now easing, our environment and ecological habitat faces all the previous challenges that it did before.

The danger for the environment is that things will revert back to the way they were before! We’ll walk less and drive more, we’ll return to buying foods that have been shipped across the world (instead of buying locally), and we’ll be tempted to take those long haul flights to somewhere exotic, instead of staying here in Britain.

For the past year, I’ve been leading the cross-party group of councillors on B&NES who have been looking at how we can reduce carbon emissions, what protections we can put in place for the natural environment, and what can be done to strengthen local biodiversity.

For this year’s World Environment Day on June 5, it is important that residents have their say!

What can we do more of? What do people living in Bath and North East Somerset want the council to do to help care for the natural environment? Are you part of a local environmental community project that’s making difference locally? If so, get in touch.

Readers can send their views, thoughts and ideas to my Research Assistant at [email protected]

I’m looking forward to hearing from you all!

Cllr Karen Walker

Chair, B&NES Council Climate Emergency and Sustainability Committee

(Independent, Peasedown St John)