We shouldn’t have to keep on doing this...
The image above shows one of the collection points for the rubbish collected by the Keynsham Wombles on Saturday 29.3 as part of The Great Avon River Pick. This is an annual event aimed at getting people involved in keeping the environment along the River Avon as clean as is possible. In addition to this, there are a fair number of local litter picks and clean ups that take place throughout the year.
The fact that the Keynsham Wombles (and others) have to keep going back down to the Avon irks us beyond belief. It does so because it shows there’s a significant minority who do not give a shit about the environment we live in and the communities in the region. People we’ve described in a number of posts on our sister blog – Stirrings from below – as the ‘renegades within’.
Possibly, one way the message will get through to these renegades that they will not win by trashing our environment and degrading the quality of life in our communities, is by keeping on going out and undertaking these clean ups. Along with some naming and shaming if we ever come across the culprits...
There’s also the broader issue of why, we as a society generate so much waste. This is something we tried to address in this piece a short while ago: Time to stop and think? 21.3.25
We're hoping that people seeing the utter state of the banks of the River Avon will pause to think about why, we as a society generate so much waste. We've got a feeling that quite a few people are asking themselves that question. Hopefully, this will prompt them to ask other questions about how we as a society can free ourselves from the toxic system we currently have to endure and build a saner, more equitable and sustainable word. That may sound like a leap but the visceral reaction of seeing the river banks trashed will be a prompt for some people to think more deeply about where we're going.
Anyway, we put our money where our mouths are, and turned out on Saturday 29.3 for the Keynsham part of The Great Avon River Pick. It was two hours hard and dirty graft but at the end, all of those who took part felt they’d achieved something. They also expressed their frustration at having to keep going back time after time to undertake these clean ups. What was also frustrating was the fact that we couldn’t get near any of the rubbish left festooning the riverside bushes after being washed down by the winter floods, because we don’t have access to boats that would enable us to do this.
What gives us heart is that there are enough people in our community who are willing to give up their time and devote their energy towards cleaning up our environment. As we’ve written, this kind of volunteering is a clear indication of a deep seated desire to make this world a better place: Thoughts on volunteering and building a better world 25.3.25.
People volunteer because they want their communities to be better places to live. Working co-operatively with like minded people, they get a heck of a lot done. In the process they generate community solidarity and cohesion – something that’s vital in these increasingly troubled times. It’s human nature to want to work co-operatively to make things better. Volunteering in the community is a clear indication of that constructive, co-operative spirit. What all of this goes to show is that the building blocks for a better world are already in place where we live.
Taking part in the The Great Avon River Pick is one expression of the practical side of our activism, alongside what we do with the Keynsham Community Veg Plot in the Park. With projects like these, we let our actions do the talking. Which in some ways, probably makes more of an impact than us pontificating on the internet:)