Louise Mitchell's Letter

My sons Callum and Thomas and any future Grandchildren,

We have all had or known someone who has been struck ill by a virus.

I think about what a virus looks like under a microscope.

What saddens me the most is knowing that if anyone looked down on Earth and saw humans crawling all over our planet - they would see us as we are - the biggest, baddest virus imaginable. Multiplying and destroying the planet at an alarming rate.

Perhaps if everyone saw themselves as a virus, they might fight harder for change. I do feel powerless. I do as much as I can in my own way - I make sure to recycle as much as I can. I try and make the right choices. To be able to do that though, those choices need to be available to me. Less plastic, affordable eco choices like electric cars.

Focus less on greed and how much money can be made and focus more on what is right for our planet. Save our green spaces. Less new builds and more restoration of old and derelict buildings. Preserve what little countryside remains.

Our own little paradise here, Penrhos Nature Reserve (the clue is in the name) is going to be destroyed to make way for a holiday park! A decision fully backed by the local council and government. This beautiful woodland is brimming with nature - plants, flowers, red squirrels etc and has been loved and is still loved by locals and visitors alike. As always though, greed wins and the decision has been made to clear huge areas to put up log cabins so the few can pay a fortune for what generations have enjoyed for free for hundreds of years.

The only people who can make real change are the ones who make the rules and regulations. Who sanction the big industries who break the rules or pollute our rivers and oceans. Legislation to protect areas like the Penrhos Nature Reserve so that no Council or Government can allow it to be sold to the highest bidder. If they make the rules and regulations needed to save our planet then the vast majority of people will follow the rules. For those that don’t - they need to be caught and dealt with severely. After all, what they’re doing is tantamount to murder - the murder of our planet.

I call on our politicians and world leaders to act now - they will be the ones going down in history as either the saviours or the destroyers.

I’ve never been much good at putting down what I feel or mean in words but I hope I’ve achieved that here today, in this letter to you. Know that I love you both so much and I want you to know that I did my bit, to try and get the change needed to save the planet.

All my love always
Mam xxx