Nature Matters

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I thought it was about time for me to tread the waters of blogging. I am not a writer, but I am a person who cares about what is around me and how it affects not just myself but others.

I currently work for a non-profit in the green sector. This is my ideal job. I have been a volunteer community/environmental activist for the last few years. But my eyes really opened when I started to take calls at work from concerned citizens.  

It became astonishing that people are either not aware (or denial) of the destruction of ecological treasures around them. Or they are nay-sawyers and say it is too late to stop the government/developers from destroying green-belts around there homes and communities.

Just this last Sunday, I helped a friend do a litter cleanup in the Surrey Bend area of Fraser Heights. I could not believe that the entrance of the trail had become a dumping ground for garbage and discarding building material from contractors and home renovations. Within 30 minutes we had collect the equivalent of 10 huge garbage bags.

At this point I said to my friend, "what are two women from Bridgeview doing cleaning up in Fraser Heights". The reason I said this is because everyone who has never lived, worked or had friends living in Bridgeview has a bad impression of the community. Fraser Heights on the other hand is considered a very desirable area to live in (and also expensive).

I guess when the problem isn't in there own yard, they don't care. But what about their backyard? I would consider down the street my backyard? I see it as I pass by it, maybe others have really cocooned and just put blinders on as they walk or drive away from their own homes.

Back to the issue I am trying to get at. When I finally managed to get to the trail after cleaning up all the garbage. I discovered a quiet area that someone put up a rope swing and you were able to sit on fallen trees. As I was resting I noticed a grove of majestic trees. I told my friend I wanted to walk that way back.

Guess what I discovered. More garbage. Garbage from the homes along the green belt. Plastic toys, plastic planters and other plastic containers. Once the home owner was finished or the toy became outdated for the family all the home owner did was cast it out over the embankment of there home down below. Where it became out of site and out of mind to them, but not to nature lovers and wildlife.

So I guess what I am trying to get at is this. Do you think those people really appreciate what they have right in their own backyard? Maybe not right now, but I bet you they will once they put the highway through it and reflect on what they once had right in their own backyard.