It is now widely accepted that our planet is warming.
The effects of this are being seen around the world and when we look outside our windows.
Large-scale and unprecedented weather events seem to unfurl with greater intensity with each coming season.
The first months after the birth of my second son was marked by the continuation of a devastating bushfire season along the east coast of Australia, now colloquially known as ‘Black Summer. I remember staying inside when he was only a few weeks old, worried that the smoky air would damage his tiny lungs.
Then, in the following couple of years, widespread flooding exceeded all previously existing records and devastated multiple local communities, creating almost unfathomable damage and destruction. I was stranded in another state away from my children at this time, cut off completely with no phone or internet contact to check on their safety, and it was days before I was able to be reunited with them.
As a mother, one of my strongest instincts is to keep my children safe, but these events activated an almost ever-present sense of fight or flight and a feeling of dread for their future.
The balance of despairing at the devastation whilst still outwardly remaining positive for them and the state of the world I brought them into has never been so arduous to maintain.
This work reflects where I have found some solace, in nature's renewal and resilience, and my children's reverence and connection to the natural world.
