Recently I watched a short video filmed by a Facebook friend of mine. "The Search for the Perfect Day".( https://vimeo.com/129534163) It is about finding one spot on this earth, one moment in time, where garbage, especially plastic garbage, is absent. This film is the brain child of three sea kayakers that truly make their living in the sea. They see the effects of litter pollution every day. They decided to do something about it by starting a pick it up campaign, a facebook page for people to post their clean up efforts. They have created a small army of picker uppers. Why then is there still garbage on the beaches, on the river beds, in the water? Where is it coming from? The video is about their search, then discovery and then an idea of education.
The conclusion of the video is that it is not the consumer, the common person who puts recyclables in the proper containers to be recycled, or even the overloaded system that only recycles about 1/3 of all disposed of properly. It is the lack of education to the common public. It is the lack of connection to the outside world we have as a society. The solution would be to get people to really see mother nature and what is happening.
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In the field 1/2 block from my house.
It is now in the trash can at my house. |
I have been told by friends not to encourage my daughter to pick up trash in the gutters on the streets, that there are people paid to do this. It is dirty,don't touch. I want to meet this person paid to pick up trash around town. It is not the guy (or gal) who drives the garbage trucks. They put away only the trash that falls out of the garbage cans their automatic claws can grab . They never even get out of their trucks to see if the wind has blown refuse down the street. If a garbage can is tipped sideways because of the winds it does not get emptied into the collection truck, the garbage just blows to vacant lots and is forgotten there. I am not passing judgment, but I cannot understand how people can look out their front windows of their homes to this every day. So, it was not in their garbage can, it did not come from their kitchen. It is in their front yard. I picked it up. I live on another block.
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| Happy Jack Ski Trails. My office. |
Just like my kayaking friends, I too make my living in the outside. I depend on the natural elements to bring people to me. I coach Nordic Skiing. I am in the mountains and on the trails 4 month of the year. In the Off Season I am out as much as possible taking photos of Mother Nature. Some I actually sell. I worked at a Christian retreat Center in the Snowy Range Mountains for 5 years. Until even there, the litter and garbage that people dropped on the ground or walked over was too much for my heart. It was the main reason I left. People do not ski to find litter, or want a photo with plastic bottles in it.
I feel as if my soul is connected to the land. The relationship I share is so deep in me that it is hard to see or understand others viewpoints. Or their lack of wanting to take care of the thing that gives us life.
The Video I watched was a kick starter for me. I need to be doing my part. Not walking past litter but picking it up. I need to be looking for ways to reduce my consumption of single use plastic. I need to think of ways to educate people about how they can help. Mostly I need to find a way for them to want a relationship with Mother Nature. A desire to take care of her. This means getting more people in the wild, making memories and teaching them how to use it but leave it untouched as much as possible. A No Trace Motto of, "Take Only Pictures Leave Only Footprints."
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| Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. |
Thank you, Jason Self and the OSOM team, Who I only know via Facebook. You took an idea and made it an action. You are making a difference. Now I join you from the High Plains of Laramie, WY.
P.S. My perfect day: Any day outside, working, enjoying, or picking up garbage.
