Do you ever feel like you're fighting a losing battle?

 

Rubbish left on a green space beside the river (Great Ouse) in the town where I live.

The most colourful things that I can see in the grass are the plastic containers and drinks cans as I walk along the path beside the river, the gaudy packaging designed to catch the eye, but I would prefer to see flowers there instead, and I and the other walkers, or people sitting on the grass with friends, just carry on, leaving the offensive rubbish where it lay.

I care, don't get me wrong. But if I stopped to pick up every scrap of rubbish selfishly and carelessly discarded I would lose a whole day, and still I would not make much of a dent in the problem. In the past I have even taken some bin liners and a litter picker with me, full of good intentions, to try and "do my bit". But still, I can fill a few bin liners and come away having barely made a difference. And what's the point when there'll just be more rubbish there tomorrow?

It's definitely a problem.

Once, again when I was walking by the river, I stopped and pulled this takeaway container from the water, concerned because the birds on the water looked to be eating it . . .

Takeaway container I saw floating on the river; birds on the water appeared to be eating tearing at the box and eating it

You know, the river in my town, and the embankment where people walk, has locally been referred to as the "jewel in Bedford's crown". But I think jewels get treated better than this.

I love walking by the river. I love spotting herons, Egyptian geese, and cormorants. I love the green spaces and the trees. I love the willows. And I love the swans. I love the little thrill of seeing something amphibious. Or even a grass snake. And, oh, I even saw an otter there once, I think (it was dark)! And the kingfishers - turquoise and fire-orange bullets with wings! These things are our national treasures as much as anything else you could care to name.

There are some borough council workers that patrol the town centre where I live. They hand out fines and issue warnings to people that drop cigarette butts and ride bicycles in the town centre (they possibly have other duties, but I couldn't tell you what they are), and I sometimes wonder if some of them might not be put to better use as a deterrent to those who litter along the the river, or those who fish illegally. I think a deterrent is what's needed; the evidence seems to suggest too many people do not value the green spaces we have.

Apparently, there are some for whom nature has no obvious value or worth, and so they treat it poorly. It doesn't matter how much you spend on trying to educate or breed compassion, they can't be reached that way, so you have to deal with the problem with punishment, I'm afraid.

My little local problem is indicative of a greater problem. I see it when I read about water companies fined for the ways in which they dump raw sewage in our waters (and still make a profit despite the fines); I see it when I read about ancient woodland being destroyed for HS2; I see it in the figures reported indicating declines in our wildlife populations (with human activity being the overwhelming cause for). 

There are so many studies which suggest all the ways in which nature is good for us. It saves us money. It provides us with food. It provides the water that is essential for our survival. It cleans the air that we breath! The information is there, and still there is an attitude of, "Yeah, but don't we have other problems that we need to deal with?"

I sometimes feel as though we are sitting in a burning house, fighting over things we've been arguing for centuries (literally centuries!), going around in circles, and it's all just going to fall down about us. Maybe we'll value things differently when the house is gone and we're wondering where we are going to live.

There's a chance I have lost a few readers by now - nobody likes a rant - so maybe I should humbly posit a few solutions to these little problems of mine . . .

• We need to invest more time, money, and effort into environmental, conservation, and wildlife work. The sad truth is that some people just don't care about nature because it doesn't put money in their pocket. So, let's create jobs that work for nature and pays people. There are enough companies out there that have polluted our land and waters, and fudged their numbers (Southern Water, I am looking at you), making money to the detriment of nature. Let's balance the scales.

• Can we stop being soft on wildlife crime? Can we, please? We are losing the animals that are an iconic part of our landscape, and with criminals getting away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist (and some activists suggesting the police often seem to be on the side of the law breakers), we need the deterrents! 

• Specifically for my fellow Bedfordians, I think it would be nice to see some of those Bedford Borough Council employees that stalk around the town centre out in our greener places, being a deterrent to those that are making a mess of our green spaces and our waters. Our "jewel in the crown".

• As individuals, those of us that care about nature, we need to do something for our own little corners of the world. No doubt you already do, but we need to keep going. Because without you turning up for the fight, we can't hold back the onslaught.

 I was going to end this post with an apology, a little sorry for some of the ranting I have done above. But then I read it back and decided against it. I don't want to apologise for caring about something worth caring about, and I am not going to. If you're still with me, thank you for reading this far!

If you recognise any of the above from your own experiences, it would be great if you could comment or share the post, just so I can see that I am not alone. And, if you found this read of any worth, you can buy me a coffee on ko-fi.com - the caffeine keeps me litter picking, and moaning about how people should know better . . . Thank you!