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| TRASH IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 'Tis the season to close up the garden - it is ready for the long winter nap - so today I had an adventure. I gather bulbs, gloves, shovel, bucket, and a rake together, balance them delicately in my arms and head out behind the fence to enjoy one last dig in the back garden. As I take one long stride across the widest part of the bed, I put my foot down and feel as if I am going to over- balance. There's a slippery lump under my left foot and my right foot, now ponderously hanging in the air, is leaving no purchase. With a jerk, I try to find balance, managing to hang on to the armful of equipment with luck. Still teetering in a drunken fashion I take another step and without warning spin another 180 degrees before falling on my hind-in with a whump and cracking the back of my head solidly on the cement walkway. Cars drive by. No one stops. I lay there looking at the sky for a few minutes, recovering what dignity I have left. Not much at this point, I might add, and get myself up and dust off. When I look back at the garden it looks as if an explosion has happened; bulbs, bucket, gloves, shovels and all equipment laying willy-nilly, and a surprise is laying in middle of the mess. An unhappy surprise. There in the middle of my garden is a piece of garbage - a slick piece of cellophane wrapper, which is what slipped me up and now had me fuming. Imagine the audacity of that dastardly cellophane; purposely targeting me like that! It did get me thinking about garbage, however. Rarely do I see someone toss trash out the car window - society has learned that tossing garbage out the window is not acceptable. Yet, when we see a piece of trash on the ground, particularly if it is more than one step from the side-walk, we do not pick it up. Why? Perhaps we think it is someone else's problem. Yet the truth is, it is not. Living greener does not mean being green only within a ten foot radius of your person. It means taking care of yourself, your family, AND your community. In our community we have a terrific environmental group called the "Adopt-A-Block" club. Once a month, this group gets out to pick up trash in the neighborhoods and to encourage a positive mindset about caring for community. When I take a walk I stop and pick up any trash and recyclables that I see and bring them home for the recycling bin. Why? For pete's sake people, because it's the right thing to do! This is why I am always surprised when I see garbage in my back garden - it is next to a public walkway where hundreds of people walk by. It is not anyone else's "responsibility" to care for my garden; it is my own. Yet, I did build this garden for the community to enjoy. I think of the pervasive societal implications related to this issue; has our society raised a "ME" generation which does not see the value in caring for nature or one another in a community? I leave you to answer that complicated question and encourage you to clean up trash in the environment – make a difference for your community. Meanwhile, back in my garden, perhaps I should consider wearing safety pads and a helmet to protect myself from my own klutziness. Either way, I will keep picking up trash with a smile. |
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