Sonya's Letter

To my son, Leo,

To my darling boy.
I wonder what the world is like for you now that you're 49, just as I am as I write this letter. I hope the decades of damage we inflicted on our beautiful planet earth have ceased and you're living in a vibrant, verdant green world full of life.

Even though we knew the harm we were doing when we decimated our ancient woodland, overfished our oceans and ripped up fields of wildflowers for yet more farmland, we carried on! And on and on and on. We were obsessed with (unsustainable) growth.

People voted in leaders who senselessly prioritised short-term wins over the long-term future of our planet and humanity and for that, I am deeply sorry. Their inept, dangerous decisions were criminal and hopefully hope some will be held to account.

I wish that you are comfortable, safe and happy, living in alignment with the natural world. We are nature, after all. I tried hard to give you a love of nature when you were young, and perhaps you've even been lucky enough to have your own child and are teaching them that same love. Do you remember the 'Phoebe the Bee' book? And your nature corner? And pond dipping, stick collecting and bug hunting? Do some of that stuff with your bubbas :)

When you look out of your windows I'm hoping you see trees, plants and flowers all around. Made possible because your generation isn't obsessed with neatness and you understand the need for wildness. The changes your generation has made by prioritising rewilding initiatives made the difference! You guys didn't just talk about it, you actually did it! The bees and pollinators are back, saved from the brink.

I hope you're living in a time where hedgehogs, polar bears and orangutans are thriving. The sea is getting colder, the weather has returned to seasonal norms and coral reef bleaching has ceased. You might even one day take your allotted turn and go snorkelling or diving to Egypt as I did! I wonder how that seagrass seed pod I sponsored is getting on in our precious Solent?

Hoping that you're not too disappointed that dinosaurs never did return, haha.

These are my dreams for you my precious boy.
Love you more than I can say,
Mummy xx