The Power of Sharing

A short story on the power of sharing your passions:

I think one of the greatest small accomplishments I have achieved as proud nature and bird nerd, and not even intentionally, has been to educate and inspire my Dad to enjoy and invest in nature through small acts…

I think lockdown was a blessing in disguise for him in some ways. I happened to get stranded at my Dad’s house for a month after Christmas during the unpredictable and sudden lockdown rules of the pandemic. In response to my Dad’s claim that “no birds ever visit my garden” I promptly started buying a variety of bird feeders and bird food, as his garden was a potential wildlife haven.

I even had him rekindling his love of amateur carpentry by commissioning a bird table and nesting box (see photos). We spent lunchtimes watching the garden birds flock to the feeders, whilst consulting the trusty bird book which had been sitting neglected and dusty on a shelf for a decade or so. Since that time, I have had regular calls from Dad proudly telling me about the blue tit family taking up residence in his nesting boxes (but predictable frustration at squirrels eating all the bird food). And he has been so invested in the journey of our Ealing beavers and my local peregrine falcon neighbours, and asks after them on an almost-weekly basis.

I just came off the phone with him earlier this evening, during which he very proudly told me about the bug mansion he had built for his partner and her garden (see pics), and the fact that they were getting involved in their village initiative to re-wild green spaces to help build more bee and insect corridors. I almost cried. He has heard me talk so passionately about the importance of wildlife and nature over the past few years, and it does seem to have rubbed off…!

The moral of this short story is that we should never underestimate the power we have as individuals to inspire and influence our friends, family and community. This was just a lovely reminder of that which I wanted to share.

Lucinda Darby
EWG Group Member