Sunshine and heat above 20 degrees only brings one thing to mind, and that is pub gardens. But what do you do when you’re in the middle of a pandemic?

Young people across Nottingham have been flocking to their local parks to make the most of the first glimpse of summer.

This has been met with some controversy, with spectators complaining over what they’ve thought to be reckless behaviour.

People reacted angrily in Gedling Eye about scenes at Colwick Country Park.

However, as someone part of this demographic, I’ve seen just how vital this has been to improve mental wellbeing after such a tough year.

Many of us are away from our families so our only support network our friends and flatmates.

When the sun is shining and the mood is high, it’s only natural that groups are going to gather outside.

From what I have seen, people were social distancing and following Covid rules, however as a result of the large groups it’s understandable why onlookers would believe otherwise.

I think students are often misjudged as irresponsible and have been used as a scapegoat throughout the pandemic, yet this really isn’t the truth.

There are always going to be the odd couple who do take things too far and who don’t follow the rules, but this is just a small minority.

Nottingham students do care about keeping themselves and others safe, however we also want to be able to enjoy ourselves and not have our youth stolen away from us.

While many do not agree, the new easing of restrictions means that the gatherings weren’t actually doing any harm.

University students pay tens of thousands of pounds for the duration of their degree, and this year have paid the same amount to be stuck inside and neglected by the government who have offered us little guidance or compensation for the disruption to our studies.

Having a day in the park with a few drinks is a way to safely have a certain sense of normality and boost morale to push through the final weeks of term.

Thousands of people in Gedling borough will no longer be asked to shield to protect themselves from the serious side-effects of Covid-19 as of Thursday.

Nationally an initial list of 2.2 million clinically extremely vulnerable people were advised to take the measures to avoid potential infection, and 1.7 million more were added to the list in February.

This first list included people with single risk factors such as those with various cancers, people on immunosuppression drugs or those with severe respiratory conditions.

But as the pandemic has progressed, medics found that some people are at higher risk than others because they have multiple risk factors.

Earlier this month, Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer for England, said: “With the prevalence of the virus in the community continuing to decrease, now is the right time for people to start thinking about easing up on these more rigid guidelines.

“If you have been shielding, we strongly urge you to take extra precautions following April 1 to keep yourself as safe as possible, such as continuing to observe social distancing and working from home.“We will continue to monitor all of the evidence and adjust this advice should there be any changes in infection rates.”

Anyone shielding has been entitled to priority access to a Covid vaccination before the general population.