Community service
A Companionship contribution from Kitty Macintyre, Honorary Pagan Chaplain.
When the weather is kind, I walk down to the village for fresh bread a couple of times a week. It is a brisk, mile-long walk along a main road with no pavements. I love enjoying the fresh air and seeing the small changes in the plants along the verges and in the fields either side of the road.
What I don’t love seeing is the litter that gradually builds up on these verges. Earlier this week, I noticed there was quite a bit.
Friday 14 January was a glorious January day, warm and mild and still. As I set out on my lunchtime bread retrieval mission, I took my litter pickers and a really handy, big, old clear plastic bag with a handle.
I smiled to myself as I wondered if the drivers of the passing cars would think I was doing community service?
I feel I was – I was doing a service to my community as part of my walk. Perhaps next time I will wear a reflective vest to add to that impression J
I gathered up litter as I walked to the village. Unfortunately, there are currently no bins available to the public for recycling cans and plastics. I shall be raising that with the village community council. (outward journey rubbish bag left).
I took the value judgement that emptying my bag into a general litter bin so I could fill it again on the way home, was better for the environment than carrying the full bag of litter all the way home again – passing more litter I couldn’t retrieve.
We hear the phrase ‘be kind’ a lot these days. Let’s spare some of that kindness for our environment by taking a carrier bag in our pockets each time we go out for a walk and picking up anything which has clearly been lying around for a while (to avoid any chance of coronavirus transmission from recently dropped objects).
(return journey rubbish bag – will be separated for recycling)