Holding on to the good post lockdown
And just like that; countless Zoom meetings, numerous bike rides and four centimetres of re-growth later New Zealand is in level 2.
I’ve loved and loathed lockdown. I’ve revelled in its slowness, (reminiscent of the drawn out weekends in small town New Zealand in the 70s and 80s) and railed against its restrictions.
It’s been a roller coaster ride through emotions; from the early fear around what damage the virus could wreak, pride at how the country has smashed the curve, to anxiety at heading into a wide uncertain future.
I missed friends and family. I’ve worried for my partner, my siblings, friends, and business owners who’ve faced the gutwrenching stress of keeping businesses running when their income streams have been slashed.
Despite the gift of more free time my to-do list never even made it to paper and there have been no triumphant Mrs Hinch moments of ticking items off.
What I have had though is time to think. Time to reflect on how we are living and what needs to change. I’ve also had space for interesting conversations with friends, wha¯ nau and strangers.
Coronavirus, we agreed, has given us a window to reset our lives to a more sustainable way of living. Whether we make that change remains to be seen, but I’m optimistic.
For what it is worth, here is my wish-list of what I’d love to see the Nelson region take from life in lockdown.
Cycling
I can hear the angry rev of cars as I write this. But I hope those who rediscovered the joy of cycling in the time of coronavirus continues to ditch the car in favour of their bikes. I also hope the region’s councils invest in more cycleways. The health and environmental benefits are a no-brainer. What can we do to re-engineer our cities around people instead of cars? Perhaps we could go back to car-less days? Can we ban cars from the waterfront on parts of Sunday morning or make traffic along the seafront one way?
Children
My neighbourhood was filled with family units on outings during lockdown. I saw young families on neighbourhood tracks I never have before. Parents seemed present and children happy. My hope is families post lockdown can find ways to jettison some activities they are rushing to and spend more time together.
Collaborate
Has anything come from the numerous reports, strategies and action plans done in our community? Or do we just keep re-doing them under a different name? I keep hearing people have consultation fatigue. They are tired of having their say, and nothing happening. What we urgently need is for our leaders to be courageous, compassionate and forge new paths.
Connect/Citizenship
Expecting our leaders to step up, doesn’t mean we Joe and Jane Bloggs can take a back seat. Everyone has a role to play.
We need to be the cliched change we want to see in the world, and push our leaders and hold them to account.
Climate Change
If you thought coronavirus disrupted your life, climate change will do so on a whole new level. The council, businesses and individuals need to prioritise work on this issue with urgency.
Conscious consumerism
Nelson has a plethora of food producers, small enterprises, eateries and tourism businesses. Now more than ever is the time to support them.
Buy directly from them if you can and tell others about your favourites. Spend your leisure time at visionary businesses such as Cable Bay Adventure Park or visit the Abel Tasman.
We need to support those that provide local employment and create value in our community. Local is the new black.
Council
Let’s get more bikes in the central city and more people living there.
The councils, especially Nelson City Council, need to lead by amending bylaws to make it easier to convert vacant inner city buildings into accommodation.
Care/compassion
With unemployment figures tipped to possibly reach 10 per cent or higher, those that can support the less well off need to give until it hurts. Low skilled workers and Ma¯ ori are forecast to be hardest hit. Support the Fifeshire Foundation, the foodbank and social agencies like St Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army. If you want to understand the need out there have a chat to those at the coal face. The Male Room, Glenn Bisdee’s Keeping Kids Warm, Kaye Guytons’ Angel in My Street, Kai with Love and Helping Families Nelson are good places to start.
Community
Using a What’s App group to communicate we held socially distant exercise classes, shared and generally looked out for each other. How strong would our community be if each street cared for one another?
Communicate
It’s important we talk about our deepest fears and ambitions for the region to encourage and inspire us to make real changes.
What do you think we should hold on to to make the region a better place? We would love to know. Email sally.kidson@stuff.co.nz. We will collate and publish.