heart

During our community cleanup in September, we found more than a dozen plastic bottles and cups thrown over the railing of the Edinburgh Road bridge, on the slope that drops straight to the Speed River. So we moved our recycling pilot there, to catch some of the drinking containers that would otherwise float down the river.

When we went back yesterday, the box had collected 23 cans and bottles in its first month, all of which would likely have ended up down the slope, where they’re much harder to retrieve. It seems a good location for the pilot, and we’ll check on it regularly.

On the way to the box, we did a short hike through the ravine further upstream. In less than 30 minutes we picked up 4.5 kg of soiled, discarded clothing, plastics and other debris, all of it metres from being flushed into the water.

Among the clothing was a navy sweater, torn and caked in dirt, with a large red heart knitted across the front. We hung it over a branch to dry. The heart is lovely, but the backstory is likely heartbreaking.

If you’d like to show some heart, join us this Saturday, October 24th, on the Guelph Radial Trail. Sign up here.