Last week we asked people to imagine a shopping experience set in a future where our skies had fallen silent, cities had disappeared under rising seas and nature had collapsed, at our InConvenience store in Waverley Mall, part of the RSPB’s Revive Our World Campaign.
On display at the store we had a whole host of products from this possible future. From the familiar like apples, beer and wine (at much higher prices than we're used to) to the not so familiar like clean air and sandbags, birdsong and mosquito nets, all of these items had one thing in common, that they would become everyday essentials if we fail to deal with the climate and nature crises.
The shop warned that fresh air could be an expensive luxury in the future
We spoke to some potential future customers to hear what they thought about a shopping experience without nature.
Susan and Bob from Northumberland admitted that they were a bit confused by the store at first but thought that it had a really important message.
"We spend a lot of time in the countryside and if we didn’t have the nature, we wouldn’t want to do it."
Kat from Dunfermline admitted that she wasn’t surprised by the costs of some of the products.
“Prices are already rising due to the lack of climate control, it shows that industry is going to become unsustainable and that will affect the natural things that we need to make."
Jill who was visiting Edinburgh said that it was the name of the store which caught her attention and but on closer inspection said it was the bottled fresh air which made her think.
She said whilst "we can all do our little bit" to help nature that she was worried about the lack of political will in tackling the climate and nature crises and didn’t think that much change would come from the Climate and Nature Conferences this year. "We need the big guns to change stuff. They disagree because nobody really knows what to do and they make […] pledges and nothing gets done."
RSPB Scotland's Director, Anne McCall, visits the InConvenience Store
Patsy, a member of the RSPB from Musselburgh, shared that sentiment and wants governments to "get off their backside" and take action to stop nature’s decline.
She said that she thought the store was "hard hitting" and was glad to see that younger people were concerned about nature and the climate. People like Alison from Edinburgh, for whom the inflatable raft on display stood out most.
“We are a part of nature, I think people forget that. Human beings are removed from animals but they are not removed from the environment. We live amongst everything else so it’s really our job and our prerogative, that we are leaving everything as we see it."
Whilst the InConvenience store has now closed, over 100,000 people joined our campaign to demand action and ask our governments to set targets for nature. This week we shared their message with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon by handing our basket of products chosen by people across the country to the Scottish Government.
RSPB Scotland’s Patrick McGlinchey hands the basket of products to the Scottish Government’s Allen Skinner
But the Revive Our World campaign isn’t over just yet, to find out how you can get involved go to www.rspb.org.uk/ReviveOurWorld