After many people were confined to their home for most of 2020, the call of the great outdoors and exploring nature has never been stronger.
It's been something the Australian National Botanic Gardens general manager Peter Byron has seen firsthand since the gardens reopened to the public in the middle of last year.
"There's been an increased appreciation of our natural environment, which is great to see," Mr Byron said.
"People are appreciating the newly opened spaces and getting back to nature, and there has also been an increased focus on gardening and native plants."
That love for open spaces has provided the gardens with their highest visitation levels for a December since opening to the public in 1970.
Following previous Decembers when bushfire smoke choked the city and sweltering temperatures forced people to seek relief indoors, Mr Byron said the milder temperatures had made it even easier for people to visit the gardens.
"It's quite incredible, actually ... what we're experiencing," he said.
"We've been witnessing record visitation numbers over the past four to five months as well.
"People are having more appreciation of the environment and they're getting out and looking after their mental health.
"People are expressing more interest in what we do and that has a positive impact on us."
The record visitation seen in the last few months of 2020 has also extended in the start of 2021.
Following a start to the year that saw many people staying in the ACT due to COVID travel restrictions, Mr Byron said that last month was also expected to be one of the biggest Januarys since the garden first opened.
"People come here for different reasons, some want to study what sort of things they can grow in their own backyard. For others, they come for the serenity of the site," Mr Byron said.
"It's not just about visitor numbers, we also have a role to help educate the public about native plants and gardening in general.
"People have been looking at their own environment more than what they were pre-COVID."
Over the past 10 years, annual visitation rates at the gardens have grown to more than 550,000 visitors per year.
Reports of the large increase in visitors come as the National Botanic Gardens team has started looking to the next decade.
Preparations are already under way for the garden's new draft management plan that will continue until 2032, with the current plan expiring in May next year.
Public consultation on the new management plan began earlier this year.
Mr Byron said the new plan would be broad in its scope.
"It will set out our priorities for managing our plant collection and our conservation role along with aspirations for new developments for the site," he said.
"We want to hear from the public if our current priorities are right and if there should be a focus in a particular area."
Consultations close on March 3.
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