Protecting the Environment

One small act at a time…

I read stories about young people who are working hard to counter pollution and slow damage to our climate, and it’s wonderful to think the next generation is motivated to make a significant difference to their own future. Students at a local elementary school made two colourful signs, one shown above, asking beachgoers not to litter, to stay off the dunes, and to pick up after their pets. But we still need more education, for young and old alike. Sometimes signs aren’t enough. 

Two days ago, I went to the beach near our home in the morning with our visiting grandchildren. I was surprised to see 2 tents pitched next to the beach entrance, with 4 teenage girls sleeping. I initially felt bad that my grandchildren’s excited screams on reaching the beach appeared to wake them up, even though they shouldn’t have been tenting there (beach camping is not permitted in our village), and especially so close to the dunes where the beach grass was struggling to regain a foothold, post hurricane Fiona. 

But it got worse. Returning later the same day, I was horrified to see the garbage they left behind for us to pick up… empty soda containers and food packages, cigarette butts, remnants of a fire (fires are not permitted on the beach either), and even a dirty tampon. It just doesn’t seem possible that these four young people were not aware of problems with pollution and climate change. Why would they think they had no responsibility to clean up after themselves, or follow rules designed to prevent damage to sensitive coastal areas? Why, unlike others of their generation looking toward the future, don’t they care? 

The scene disgusted me, and I wanted to do something about it. So, I emailed some neighbours to find out whether anyone knew who these girls were. We live on a private road and know all our neighbours, so we knew they didn’t live here, but they could have been visiting someone. Others were as upset about their behaviour as I was – one neighbour said she thought about yelling at them but feared for her safety as she was alone and couldn’t see how many people were in the tents or what age they were. She also reported other garbage further down the beach that upset her so much she has decided not to walk the beach until September when the tourists are gone. It seems it’s not an isolated incident, sadly. 

Anyway, no one knew who they were. It seemed that someone just dropped these girls off (randomly?) on a private road to go camping, despite 2 commercial campgrounds nearby with proper facilities and garbage cans. Someone saw them waiting to be picked up at the beginning of the path to the beach around noon. It defies logic (well, my logic, at least) that a parent would allow their children and friends to behave like that… but then, these children didn’t appear to be following any responsible parental examples. 

So, what to do? My hubby and I went down to the beach again the next morning and picked up the garbage (he wore protective gloves!). Maybe we need yet another another sign? **sigh** Although we already have 6 signs asking people to respect the dunes and beach grass… 

Here are some of my sign ideas: 

• Cigarette butts kill: birds and other animals think they’re food but can’t digest them 
• Bacteria from one mess of dog poo can destroy 2 acres of marine life (about the area of a city block). 
• Why should we pick up after you? Pick up your own shit (literally and figuratively)! 

OK, so I’m really just blowing off a little steam here. But do you blame me? It’s 2 days later as I write this and I’m still angry…  

Signs, obviously, don’t work for everyone, but maybe fines for littering the beach might help (even though they would be very difficult to enforce). But sometimes just the threat of a fine will make people think twice. Cameras are quite cheap now and could help keep watch, at least in highly used areas like our local park beach.  

Sometimes inconsiderate behaviour you’ve observed just sticks in your craw. I wish I’d spoken to those girls about being responsible, rather than feeling bad that my grandchildren had woken them when they shouldn’t have been there in the first place (they looked a little hungover, actually). I still remember chastising a guy years ago who stubbed out a cigarette on a clean floor in a Sobey’s grocery store, while waiting in front of me in line at the take-out lunch counter. I just had to point out that he was standing next to a huge commercial ashtray. His response? He asked me if I worked there (I had on my white pharmacist’s coat) … “No. I just find it disgusting that you dirtied a floor that someone obviously just cleaned.” was my answer. He picked up the butt, put it into the ashtray, and looked sheepish… 

We don’t need to just accept pollution (and polluters) indoors or outdoors. Politely letting people know their behaviour is not acceptable, could be the educational “push” they need to change their habits. Hopefully they’ll be embarrassed about being so uncaring. We all need to stand up for the environment and teach others, especially our kids and grandkids! 

References:

Picking up after your dog: why it’s important — Hills Pet

PS: My apology for any ads you see here — it’s the price I pay for a free website these days (all ads are courtesy of my WordPress hosting site…)