Another Earth Day, Another Photo Diary | Earth Day 2018

Hello guys! If you didn't know it already, today is Earth Day! It is international event held each year to remind people to take care of the world around them and to each do their little bit to protect nature. On Earth Day, organisations across the globe put on demonstrations, classes, talks, workshops, etc., to help educate people on the problems impacting the natural world, and how they can get involved in conservation. There are so many things that you can do such as donating money to charities and schemes, being more 'green' in your everyday lives which entails reducing the amount of plastics you are using or the amount of electricity you use, travelling via public transport or walking sometimes instead of always using your car, recycling and reusing things, buying from renewable sources or environmentally-friendly companies, litter picking, spreading the word about projects and/or signing petitions, or taking a more hands-on approach and getting involved in volunteering. There's seriously so much you can do! Even if you feel like it's a small, insignificant thing to for example use a reusable water bottle VS always buying water from the shop, believe me it's actually really helpful to the cause and is a very constructive thing to do to contribute to protecting and preserving the planet. Whatever you can do to help, please do it :) It's all a step in the right direction. Encourage others to do it too! 

On April 22nd annually, people are encouraged to get outside and immerse themselves in nature. You could go to a park, a nature reserve, for a scroll down the street, a dog walk, or even just venture out into your garden. Go anywhere where you can be outdoors and get a close encounter with the natural world, where you can witness how beautiful it is! Appreciate it, and take note of how important it is to protect it, so that we can go on appreciating it for many years to come, so that future generations can enjoy it! It is now Spring Time and we are starting to see flowers blooming, trees are beginning to bud, all of the animals are getting active again and yesterday & today I spotted my first butterflies of the year! It's an exciting time, perfect for getting outside after a long and cold winter :) 

Nature for many people, myself included, has a very therapeutic effect on their well-being and mental health. There is something so relaxing and tranquil about watching the tree branches sway in the wind, listening to birds tweeting, hearing the trickle of a stream flowing over rocks, being able to smell the earth all around you. I find surrounding myself with nature makes me feel free; I am so focused on all the sights and smells and sounds around me, that I barely have chance to dwell on my anxious thoughts or worries. Who else feels this way?

Today I was not having the best of days, my physical health conditions have flared up, which in turn made me feel crappy mentally, things happened throughout the day to make me feel worse and I was just so tired that I got pretty emotional. I decided that I was going to go out into the garden and attempt to calm myself. I had been outside for less than 10 minutes, listening to the garden birds and feeling the sun of my face, breathing in the scent of the air after it had been raining (which is one of my favourite smells ever!), and I already felt a little better. I was inspired as always to go and grab my camera then, to have a wander around exploring all the intricate details in my surroundings. Nature photography is one of my absolute favourite hobbies, if not my favourite! As soon as I began to focus my attention on the tiny green shoots popping out of the soil, the rain drops glistening in the sun, zooming in with my camera on the tiniest leaf to magnify all the veins and textures, I felt content and in my element as they say :) I am a bit of wild child when it comes to being outdoors, I like to walk around bare-footed, feeling the grass between my toes and in this case, the wet mud squelching under my feet, haha! I took quite a few photographs, and I thought you might like to see them so I will stop getting carried away with myself (I can literally talk about flora and fauna all day!) and show you. Enjoy! 

Just looking back through all of the photographs I've taken today has made me feel so good :) How stunning are leaves and flowers though!? It is truly amazing how complex and detailed nature really is. All of those colours and shapes and textures! Aren't they just so much more gorgeous when they are covered in raindrops?? When the sun catches them and makes it look like they are coated in glitter. I mean just look at the photograph above, that raindrop looks like a jewel. They are the diamonds of the natural world! (not that actual diamonds aren't natural, but you know what I mean haha). I'm really proud of this photo actually, and that's another thing I enjoy so much about nature photography. I always feel so happy looking through the pictures afterwards, reliving the wonderful moments all over again :) Which is your favourite photograph and why? I'm really curious to know!

So that's my Earth Day post for this year! I almost didn't get it posted in time because I've been doing so many things this evening, after my family who were visiting & having Sunday roast dinner with us today had gone home. I'm really glad though that I made the decision to go outside when all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and binge watch documentaries. It really did make all of the difference; after spending time in nature, I felt pretty reinvigorated!  I recommend that if you're feeling rubbish that you spend some time outdoors, even if it's just for ten minutes... just sit and take in everything around you, or close your eyes and just listen. I just want to end my post by saying let Earth Day be a reminder to you to get outside more and appreciate the wonders of nature, and to make changes in your life, no matter how small, like something as simple as using reusable shopping bags VS plastic carrier bags, because it is important to look after the earth that gives us so much :) I hope you enjoyed my post & photos, and I hope you've had a lovely day!

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Have you done anything to celebrate Earth Day today?

What was the last memorable natural thing you saw?

I'd love to hear all about it in the comments & why it was so memorable or special for you :) 

For more nature related posts, check out these below: 
| Spring Time In The Garden | Earth Day 2016 | Afternoon at Avenham Park |