Wild & Fine does World Cleanup day
One of the traits that defines us as wildlings is a collective love of the natural world. From ocean to forest, we delight in all things wild, which means we hate to see it being spoilt by pollution and the carelessness of fellow humans. In our day-to-day life we all individually try to do our bit to make our places and spaces a little bit cleaner, whether it is picking up litter in the park, making more sustainable purchases, or simply walking instead of taking the car. But this year we were delighted that we were able to come together as part of a larger group and join in with World Cleanup Day.
WHAT IS WORLD CLEANUP DAY?
World Cleanup Day is a movement that began in Estonia 10 years ago, where groups of people came together to collect rubbish from their forests, rivers, oceans and streets to highlight the need for proper waste management and to raise awareness. Over the years it has become a worldwide wave of cleanup operations that span the globe, from New Zealand to Hawaii. It highlights the scale of what we can achieve when we all work together.
HOW WE GOT INVOLVED:
Last week three members of the Wild & Fine team (Jessica H, Jessica G and Hayley) were in Javea, Spain for a photoshoot. We discovered that the local town hall was organising events along the coastline for World Cleanup Day and we were only too happy to down tools and sign up.
OUR EXPERIENCE:
Believing that area was pretty clean, we didn’t expect to find a huge quantity of rubbish, but as we clambered over the rocks that separate the harbour from the open sea, it soon became apparent that we were completely wrong. Between the boulders was all manner of detritus, a mixture of rubbish left there by people and debris that had been washed in by the ocean.
Three biggest pollutants we collected were:
Cigarette butts
Fishing line
Plastic packaging
Despite finding such a lot of rubbish (and generally despairing of the human race) we had an excellent morning. Our group consisted of multiple nationalities, speaking many different languages, and was made up of both residents and tourists. It was wonderful to see how a group of strangers could come together in such a harmonious way and work towards a common goal.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED?
Anyone can get involved. All you need is a sense of humour and occasionally a strong stomach! And although the date has passed for 2019 you can still head to www.worldcleanupday.org to find clean ups near you and follow the movement on all the social media channels.
If you have felt inspired by what you have seen from the day, don’t forget that there are another 364 days of the year when you can do your bit. Organisations such as Plastic Patrol organise events throughout the year and also have a handy app so you can log your collection in their database. The Take 3 for the Seamovement encourages everyone to make a big collective difference by making a small individual effort and simply taking three pieces of rubbish away with you when you leave any beach or waterway you visit. Here at Wild & Fine HQ we’re putting together some events of our very own too, so sign up to our newsletter and keep an eye on our channels for updates!
WHAT DID WE TAKE AWAY FROM OUR DAY?
We felt uplifted by our experience. You would think that collecting rubbish would be a thankless and miserable task, and certainly there is an element of disappointment in the knowledge that as a species we have done this to ourselves, but coming together and working as a team to make a significant difference by far outweighed any negative feeling. Furthermore we met a new group of people that shared our values, and gave us faith that although there is clearly a long way to go, the movement to clean up our planet is gaining significant traction!