With the new year fast approaching, many of us will be more than happy to wave goodbye to 2020; an often exhausting and deeply concerning year if ever there was.
As has been mentioned multiple times here and elsewhere, one of the few benefits of lockdowns and travel restrictions was the nationwide increase in nature awareness. Whether we were hearing more birdsong in our towns and gardens or discovering access to the outdoors close to where we live, many of us found some comfort in the natural world. Here at Leighton Moss we welcomed many first-time visitors from the local area and we were delighted to help further inspire and encourage this new-found love of landscapes and our amazing native wildlife.
Despite Covid guidelines preventing us from operating as we normally would we have been thrilled to remain open for much of the year, allowing our regular visitors and those discovering us for the first time, to come and find solace in the reedbeds, meres, marshes and woodlands of the nature reserve. There has been a great deal of discussion around how being outdoors and connecting to nature can benefit us in many ways, from improving mental health to physical wellbeing and at times like these, 'nature therapy' is essential for many of us.
If ever there was a time to make more space for nature in our lives, this is it. Why not make it a New Year's resolution to immerse yourself further into the fabulous world on your doorstep!
We would like to wish everyone a very happy New Year and we look forward to a time when things may return to a state that resembles 'normal' - one thing for sure, nature will be here to help us cope with whatever we have to deal with in 2021.
Don't forget, we are open from 10am - 4pm daily with the exception of Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 January.
Please note that now that we are in a Tier 4 region. The reserve remains open but the shop and café are closed.
Happy New Year Jon and to all our friends at LM who we haven't seen for over a year; here's to a more hopeful 2021 and to sharing a cuppa in the café and catch up with you all eventually ! Stay well and thanks for all the ongoing work both in the field and also the office which RSPB continued on with throughout the year. Best wishes Hazel and Mike