We need our nature recovered

We can't have nature recovery without recognising our human ecology. Like other species we are governed by the same Laws of Nature. Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) talk about "Nature" as if is separate from us, but we are as much "Nature" as a spider or an elephant. Don't we all come from the same planet?!

If the LNRS included humans as an animal species, how does that change the narrative? Can we use bigger, better and more joined up in the human context as for habitats or wild species? Do we have a problem with isolation and fragmentation, and are we struggling to stay healthy as a result?

In the past we were intimately interwined with nature-rich places, but are now disengaged and suffering the consequences. I don't think we are just feeling the affect of lack of access to nature,but also feeling the affect of social fragmentation (an ecological characteristic). We are lonely and need our fellow humans and communities to recover our health and resilience.

In a similar way humans have their own "Shifting Baseline Syndrome", which refers to the "psychological and sociological phenomenon where each new generation inherits a progressively degraded environment but accepts it as the "normal" baseline". Coined by Dr Daniel Pauly in the 1995. it leads to lowered expectations for nature and an increased tolerance for environmental decline." In the context of this article this phenomenon would also be used to refer to the human health crisis we are currently facing.

To recover "Nature" in its fullest meaning, we need to recover ourselves.