By: Michelle Young, Opinions Editor

In the midst of raging wildfires, a pandemic, and increasing inflation, it often feels like the world around us is collapsing (and it kind of is). The effects of climate change are creating deteriorating conditions for the surrounding wildlife and destroying their homes. It’s very easy to feel hopeless in this timeline, but something that has been easing my mind lately is the existence of bridges for animals to cross roads safely. 

It brings me so much joy imagining bears, penguins, and boars crossing bridges on their little paws, flippers, and hooves. They have places to go! These aren’t just regular bridges either, but built as overpasses over highways and tiny tunnels to blend into the natural environment. These bridges can even include passages for fish to swim through.

They are built beautifully, and reflect a desire to coexist with wildlife in a way that accommodates them. These bridges save the lives of many animals and allow them to migrate freely, when they might otherwise be harmed by oncoming traffic. This is a step forward in respecting the wildlife around us, and ensuring their safety. The existence of this infrastructure makes me feel hopeful for the future, like maybe we’re doing some things right, after all.