If you've read my blog before you know that I like to think I'm environmentally friendly. Grand Lake is one of those places that make you want to be environmentally friendly. You have a huge beautiful lake, a picturesque back lake, plenty of forest, and even a family of osprey. My girlfriend even saw a deer during one of her bike rides.
I brought my bike with me to Grand Lake to 1) burn off Nana's cookies, cakes and pies and 2) to take in the sights. However I was just a few feet past the camps (their camps in NB, not cottages) and getting into the less populated area of the ride when I saw the first thing that upset me; a Tim Horton's cup. "It's alright", I think. It's just one litterer, or maybe a careless truck driver who's garbage flew out of the truck bed. Then, not even one full pedal of the bike later I see an empty box of Alpine, then a can of Alpine, then a pillow (a pillow!?!), then another Tim Horton's cup. It went on and on and on. The side of the road is littered with litter. It was like watching that episode of Mad Men when they just threw their garbage anywhere while on picnic.
Come on people of Grand Lake. It isn't that hard to find a garbage can. There's one just a few kilometres away in Douglas Harbour. You're ruining what is a beautiful part of the province. In fact, prior to re-branding NB's slogan to "Be...in this place" NB used to be the "Picture Province".
It's no surprise that given this lack of eco-friendliness that the area of the lake that was public (actually privately owned, but generously available for public use) is no longer. The owner decided that they didn't want to put up with the filth that people leave behind (even diapers). It's also no surprise that people ignore the no trespassing signs and continue to use the beach and litter. I implore you NBers and Grand Lakers, stop littering. You're really messing up my bike ride and picture taking. Maybe you think that you alone can't stop garbage from piling up. Well if everyone thought that way we'd end up with a big garbage island somewhere in the Pacific twice the size of Texas. Wait, what? We have one?
5 comments:
Yeah, yeah. Litter creates jobs. You should take the big words out and send it to the Grand Lake Mirror, tourist.
If litter creates jobs then the employees of Grand Lake NB sanitation are lazy or the place understaffed.
Not sure, I'll ask Jack and David (Tony and Pauly) the next time I'm talking to them.
I think the Mad Men analogy is probably the closest to explaining what is happening. I think that there has been a bequested right to use of the park from the older generations of the surrounding communities.
Unfortunately the town next door is an isolated community where the idea of throwing garbage out the window, or leaving it on the beach is spitting-in-public bad, but not quite kicking-a-puppy bad. We pick up garbage bags off of our land when we visit, despite the fact that there is now home collection throughout the entire area.
Gentrification in a specific area doesn't necessarily translate into increased environmental conscientiousness for the transient users of the park. If things improve in the surrounding communities, then maybe people will litter less.
Dr. Double A? I think congratulations are in order. I thought you'd still be working on that doctorate when Sophie and Ross went to Uni.
i feel like punching people when i see them litter.
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