Just two days after Earth Day, the annual event to show support for environmental protection and conservation, I decided to go on a walk. What would normally be a 30-40 minute route turned out to be over 2 hours long because of the frequent stops to pick up discarded garbage.
Using tongs, I picked up bottles, cans, countless cigarette ends, tissues, cardboard, styrofoam, even a t-shirt that was embedded into the earth. As a child, Earth Day was a day to celebrate the planet, pick up garbage at my local park, turn the lights off, and hug trees. Slowly, over time, Earth Day became just another day. At this point in humanity, this annual day shouldn’t be anything but important, as it’s clear that we are nearing the point of no return if we haven’t already passed it.
A pair of kitchen tongs can cost as little as $2, and garbage bags can be bought for $5, or even reusing milk bags or shopping bags would work! It costs very little to carry these items around on each walk, and it can save wildlife from consuming harmful waste. I would also suggest wearing shoes that can be soiled, as in my experience, you may have to get your feet wet or walk through a creek to collect any waste travelling downstream.
The most heartbreaking moment on my walk was having to pick up a rusted bicycle piece after watching a Canadian goose try to eat it. The creek that runs through my neighbourhood didn’t have any ducks that day, instead, there were empty beer cans replacing the ducks.
Although short, this experience shocked me enough to carry tongs and a garbage bag with me on all of my walks. I hope that this reading has encouraged you to do the same in your community. It can even be fun- pick up trash with your friends and see who can fill their bag or collect the heaviest bag!
Our school normally participates in the fall and spring City of Ottawa Cleaning the Capital and has for over a decade. This year the program is on hold during the lockdown but anyone can register and obtain a free clean-up kit with bags, gloves, leaf-litter bags and if needed creek clean-up supplies. Our kit is on hold till we can get in to pick it up.
City of Ottawa Cleaning the Capital Registrations
