With the recently concluded Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit in the news, we were reminded that, long before the story of oil, Guyana's story has been one of nature and connection. Guyana has been at the forefront of conservation and sustainable forest management efforts for decades. Guyana's focus on re-centring humans in conservation -- by protecting their relationships and connections to the land and forests -- has helped redefine the concept of conservation. Every Guyanese should be proud of this legacy, and successive governments should also be commended for maintaining the integrity of our country's biodiversity.

During an interview before the summit began, while heralding Guyana's role globally as helping to "reconnect humanity to nature," a local conservation expert acknowledged that more work needed to be done reconnecting Guyanese, especially coastlanders, to nature and the land. A visible manifestation of this disconnect in society is our culture of littering, even as nature and landscapes remain central to the Guyanese identity -- Kaieteur Falls and Mount Roraima can inspire instant patriotism. While littering and conservation are only two aspects of our identity, why not draw on our conservation tradition to grapple with our littering culture and the disconnect with nature?

While the issues with litter around the city are well-known, including clogged drains, perhaps less known -- or maybe less seen -- is the amount of garbage along the northern side of the seawall: boxes and cans, plastic bags and broken glass, laundry basket -- you name it. There also seems to be a systematic dumping of plastic bottles -- by the thousands -- over the wall, especially where the mangroves become thick. From the looks of it, the seawall -- which of all Georgetown's landscapes probably most epitomizes the city, is being treated as garbage disposal and landfill.

So, how do we reconcile this history of conservation with our littering culture? How do we begin to restore our bonds with nature? What can our conservation experience -- particularly the centring of people and their connections to the land -- teach us about littering? And the city's birds, trees and green spaces, coastline and ocean, trenches and waterways? Are they not also deserving of our respect and celebration? Is it not all part of the same glorious ecological fabric that we protect in the bush? I don't have all the answers, but a good question is a good place to start.

The call to "reconnect humanity to nature," affirmed the conservation expert, "is a message whose time has come," with Guyana seeming naturally aligned to deliver it. Ultimately, he reflected, the message is about "reconnection to the self." While there are many factors that contribute to our littering culture and the garbage around the city, it is a reflection on us: who we are and what we care about. We can all do better being stewards of this land and showing gratitude for its gifts. For long after the last barrel of our oil is produced and consumed, the story of Guyana will be the story of our connection to this green land.