Pick Up Your Rubbish!!!!

I have to admit that today I didn't make much progress with the book; a bare handful of words to at least register some forward motion for the day, because instead I spent the day in one of my local parks on a litter-picking and plant removal exercise. This work badly needed doing; an area usually closed off to the general public was full of junk, some of it quite odd (a cow pelvis, bundle of unread bank statements, something strange that was oozing...) Now, I don't mind spending the day doing work like this...

...actually, I tell a lie, I do. Not because I resent having to work, not because I have any problem spending the day cleaning up a park, but because a lot of it was completely unnecessary if people were not so disgusting. For me, a public park, a green space, is something to be cherished and protected, but too many people seem to view it as their own personal dustbin. We took out two dozen bags from a not-that-large space, mostly cans and plastic bags of one sort or another – do people think that these will just evaporate or be picked up by the rubbish fairy at some point?

There is enough pressure on most of these places as it is without thoughtless people adding more. For heaven's sake, if you are walking out in a park, and you finish your drink, look around for a dustbin rather than simply dropping it on the ground. Have a consideration for the other people that use the park, that prefer to see a nice green area to enjoy, but more than that, have some thought for the animals that use the park, and for the plants that grow in it, for in a city the environments they can use are few and far between as it is.