NEW WORLD ORDER

Painted rocks. Happiness trees (decorated with ornaments made by the community). These are the kinds of things that started showing up in my neighbourhood this past spring — positive and inspiring responses to the massive changes and tragedies we all experienced in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many aspects of how we interact with our world changed dramatically, seemingly overnight, as a result. The downtown cores of our cities were suddenly deserted. Once jammed highways were barren. Schools across the country sat vacant. Airplanes overhead became an oddity. And home offices sprang up everywhere. Given the once-in-a-lifetime nature of the pandemic (we hope), we’ve curated a collection of images that capture how we altered the ways we use Canada’s geography (see “The pause,” page 70).

Coincidentally, as the pandemic emerged, we had also been working on a feature for this issue (“The sixth extinction,” page 58) on worldwide interactions with wildlife, global biodiversity loss and the lack of action on international commitments to address these issues. As a result, we weren’t entirely surprised by reports that the virus responsible for COVID-19 may have picked up momentum at a wildlife trade market. To be clear, such markets are far from the only problem and certainly not the epicentre of species endangerment. It’s a complex challenge, as you’ll see — and one that desperately needs our collective attention.

Perhaps the newfound connections to wildlife around our homes that we made as we retreated to states of physical distancing will help give us a greater appreciation for the larger world around us and the species that call it home.