Leading charity RSPB launch a new pop-up shop like no other

In an attempt to showcase the significance of what the world would look like without the beautiful nature surrounding us, the conservation charity has created ‘The InConvenience Store’, a free online shop, which shows a future in which nature has collapsed, our skies have fallen silent and entire cities have disappeared under rising sea levels.

Stocking everyday essentials such as sandbags and fresh air canisters, The InConvenience Store paints a bleak picture of what our world would look like without nature and the essential services it provides. This includes clean air and drinking water, flood defences, productive soils to grow food, and a home for wildlife.

Other items include insect protein, representing an alternative protein source due to the scarcity of meat, a birdsong vinyl to recreate the lost treasure of live birdsong and locally grown fruit, symbolising luxury due to the extinction of pollinators which saw prices of fresh food rocket as human pollinators have had to step in.

Organisers say that the campaign’s message is not one of doom but an opportunity for people across Northern Ireland to make a statement.

As a region without its own climate laws and one that is languishing in 229th place out of 240 countries for the amount of nature it has left, the charity is calling on the public to visit The ‘InConvenience’ Store and send a free basket of products to political leaders in Northern Ireland to demonstrate that now is the time to take action and forge a better future.

John Martin, Head of Policy and Advocacy at RSPB NI, commented: “Without nature, instead of fresh vegetables, meat and dairy, honey and fruit, supermarket essentials will include cans of breathable air, precious bottles of unpolluted drinking water and sandbags to protect our homes from constant flooding.

“The InConvenience Store is really a stunt designed to get people in Northern Ireland to think about just how crucial it is to care for the environment in which we live. We need everyone’s help to spread the word and are encouraging the public to visit the store and send a free basket to Northern Ireland’s leaders.

“This will show that many of us do not want this future for Northern Ireland and that we want them to match their words with action by committing to targets in law to save nature at every level of government, delivering against their New Decade New Approach commitments and demonstrating that Northern Ireland can be bold and ambitious in securing a climate-safe and nature rich future.”