Hope is a Community Thing

The start of another community litter free craze has begun! The annual fall litter community clean-up has taken off with the first two groups, The Mission Farmer's Market and Communities in Bloom (photo), tackling the first two litter routes of the year (including the Cedar Valley Connector, Logan Ave, Rai Ave.). A great start to the season including sunny weather and a great show of volunteers participating to make Mission a cleaner place to live, work and play. The fall clean-up continues through the month of October.

Interested Mission non-profit groups are invited to join Adopt-A-Block for next year's Spring Clean-Up already! For more information, check out our website www.missionadoptablock.com Selected groups receive $250 for their participation in our annual fundraiser events - spring and fall clean-up(s).

Hope in "Secured Loads"

Today, as I was driving to work I found myself following behind a pick-up truck full of garbage bags and as I began to wonder about what could possibly be disposed of in all these garbage bags and where the driver was headed with all of it, one rolled off the pile, crashed down onto the road in front of me and scattered its 'inners'. What a mess! The garbage now spread across both lanes of traffic, the pick-up truck driver still heading down the highway, and all the cars behind playing 'dodgeball' on their way to work.

That's where news like the following bring a message of hope to these common day mishaps:

In February, The District of Mission implemented a surcharge of $5 on unsecured loads, an effort to reduce the amount of litter found on access roads to the Mission landfill. This surcharge resultued in the percentage of unsecured loads dropping from approximately 55% to 31% within two months, and to 11% over the following three months. In October 2009, the surchage will rise to $10 to futher reduce the % of uncovered loads to the landfill (funds collected from the surcharge are used to support clean-up (litter) activities).

Article in The Mission Record - October 01, 2009

Hopeful News

Heading, "Disastrous Sockeye Run Flops to a Finish". The news, "The run size of the sockeye salmon is at 1.37 million, the worst on record and significantly below the last two dismal years". It continues, "And there is little hope more of the forecasted run of the 10.5 million sockeye will materialize".

Environmental degradation and stories of hopelessness are everywhere. Where is the hope?

The unfortunate news came today that our small non-profit organization was denied the BC Gaming grant for 2010. This funding has been suppporting nearly 50% of the society's litter control program budget costs for eleven years now. Adopt-A-Block is just one of the many environmental non-profit organizations that will receive this unfortunate news over the next couple of months before the year ends; as 'environmental' non-profit programs/causes did not make the priority list to whom to disburse funding this year in the shadow of the 2010 Olympics and other BC governmental happenings I don't really understand. I fear Adopt-A-Block will have its branches cut off next year after expanding its growth beautifully over the last couple of years. I feel as if something has been ripped out from my being and stomped on; but I am not exactly sure what it is. Could it have something to do with my hope that the environment would be perceived as more valuable and irreplaceable than it is by some?

Is it the same out there today for everyone? The sockeye salmon collapse is a huge blow to environmental 'hopefuls' and the implications of this environmental disaster is far-reaching than most can imagine. Mission's Fraser Valley Bald Eagle festival is only months away, I wonder how the small non-profit that runs this program is reacting to the salmon run collapse news? The festival is held annually to educate people about bald eagles and to preserve their habitats; the salmon run is crucial to this species' health and survival. But so few of us think beyond our bellies it seems.

Where is the hope?

Speaking of bellies. Sometimes it takes that extra work to prepare a good meal. When you put in a full day at work, spend more than your fair share of time driving to get home to manage household chores, to pick up your kids from their extra curriculum activities or maybe your own, etc.; the last thing you want to do, sometimes, is to make that 'meal'. You know the one that requires a bit of chopping, measuring, cooking time, what have you - but taking that extra time always makes the meal taste so much better in the end. It makes the eating experience more enjoyable than simply another means to fill your belly so that you can continue to fill your daylight hours before you must say goodnight.

Where is the hope?

So, today I needed to take the extra time to find the hope in the midst of the hopelessness in the news and in my letter inbox. "Inspired by Hero's Effort" the headline of the local paper tells of a young man diagnosed with cancer at the age of four but in remission for 12 years, he is running the 5 km Terry Fox run this fall. Next, the "Hike for Hospice" will take place on Saturday where volunteers will hike 4km to raise money for individuals and families living with terminal illness, death and grief. "Playground Rebuilt and Community Hall Repaired", a project only just one of many, a number of Mission volunteers completed during a recent trip to Skatin Reserve. "Housing Market showing some signs of rebound", "Natural gas bills to drop" and "Helping Habitat" tells of a golf team that were part of a tournament to raise $5,000 for an annual Habitat for Humanity trip undertaken by Hatzic secondary school students. Finally, there are countless of volunteer opportunites, fundraisers and community events; all for the good of the community and well-being of its residents. Hopeful news is everywhere. And hope, no matter where it comes from, what cause or from who; contributes to everyone's cause.

My favorite stories of hope are in the community pages, "Fast Food Litter Second Most Common Item Found" and "Adopt Voluntary Code of Practices". Mission Adopt-A-Block's litter control program has made the papers! The society has provide a few facts about litter and what people can do to prevent and reduce it. There is also a call to businesses to adopt the society's Voluntary Code of Practices to help tackle the problem of litter in the community. While Adopt-A-Block may have had its branch snipped off in one area from what seems 'hopeless news', another branch is growing, Adopt-A-Block's visibility in the community, the 'spreading the word' of its litter control program.

Sometimes it just takes that 'extra bit' to see things from a different perspective. Have you put on your spectacles of hope lately?

Articles quoted from The Mission Record - Thursday, September 10, 2009.

Hope in 'Doing'

A successful litter control activity that I adminster through Mission Adopt-A-Block is the School Litter Audit where students learn first hand about litter in the environment. First, we discuss what type of litter can be found in the environment, where it originates from, what excuses people might use when they litter and other points to ponder. Then we take time to collect litter around the school yard and analyze it before discussing what can be done to prevent and reduce litter around the school yard, home and the community. The school litter audit, in a sense, introduces the 'science of litter'and at the same time empowers the children to be active agents in finding solutions to arising environmental crisis. And in today's world where a new vocabulary of terms such as ecophobia, ecoanxiety and nature deficiency disorder can be found, basic environmental action is vital. Faced with doom and gloom messages in our newspapers and television sets, how do children interpret, digest, and deal with the state of the earth? Teaching children about litter and the environment is one way to confront these terms first hand and to connect students to their immediate outdoor surroundings and empower them to be active ecological citizens. Being involved in litter awareness education has taught me a great deal about the environment and community, and through it I have come to understand how education is key for fostering environmental stewardship and how being involved in simple environmental actions like school litter audits builds character and empowers individuals/groups to be a part of building of healthy communities.

Hope Starts at Home, Inside You.

When environmental degradation begins to overwhelm you - when the bombardment of doom and gloom messages in the papers, on TV, and right in front of your face begin to weigh you down... remember, if you just begin to take care of things from your tiny corner, that's all you need to do to make a difference.

A Conversation of Hope

I stumbled upon the following question and answer conversation online. It's worth sharing.

Zag asks, "Is it sensible to give up hope for the environment?" and continues, "I care passionately about our natural world, but watching its steady and relentless demise over the decades is depressing. Is it sensible to give up on it now, or is there still time and is it still possible, considering the nature of humanity, to save the natural world from total destruction? Does the human race have the capacity to save large areas of the natural environment? It doesn't look like it to me..."

Andy responds with the following quotes and advise:

We may be fighting a losing battle, but we are having a lot of fun trying to win (old folk song).

If we all give up on trying to save the environment, that pretty much guarantees a negative result. But if we keep on trying, we have some chance that we will win.

If you dedicate your life to fighting and working to make human civilization sustainable, you've given your life a framework around which you can build knowledge, courage, intellectual integrity, curiosity, generosity, and a passion for teamwork - - - all of them admirable character traits.

You are going to spend your whole life doing SOMETHING, in any case.

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Likewise, "Is it sensible to just give up on cleaning the litter that is dumped in the environment?" Seeing the litter that ends up back on the street sides & green spaces in our community days, hours and sometimes moments after you have cleaned up the litter and properly disposed of it, can be, well, depressing!

One of the first things I say to volunteers who come out to community litter clean-ups is don't be discouraged when you see litter back in the environment where you just spent hours cleaning it up - because it WILL happen! And don't think that you aren't making a difference - because you are - even if for a day that area is litter free - you are reducing the amount of garbage in the environment - all of which eventually ends up in our waterways. Also, litter begets litter - so if a section of the city is cleaned from time to time - people will think twice about throwing their litter in a tidy section as opposed to a section that already consists of garbage debris. But more importantly, getting out there and cleaning the streets shows leadership in litter control - and most people learn by watching what other people do. If motorists and pedestrians witness a group of volunteers busy cleaning up litter - they are more likely to think about the problem of litter in the community - what is more - that cleaning it up is a community affair. Participating in litter control also adds to the safety and well-being of our children and animals - that otherwise might hurt themselves on dangerous/hazardous litter items. Finally, getting out there and being active in litter control promotes positive environmental awareness, it sends a strong message to the community about ecological citizenship and fosters civic pride among community members alike.

So then, the answer is NO - it is definitely not sensible to 'give up' on litter control or any other environmental activity because environmental integrity at times seems unattainable. We make a difference in every effort; even though it may seem small and insignificant, we are changing the world one water ripple outward at a time.

Yellow Vested Volunteers Active in Mission

This year's Celebration of Community theme is "Active Mission" and what better way to show how active Mission is than to show up to the event wearing your yellow volunteer vest! This year, Mission Adopt-A-Block invites all volunteers and litter control supporters to meet at the Bell Tower at 1:30PM (in Mission Heritage Park) during the Celebration of Community for a landmark group photograph. It is the society's hope to show the community just how 'active' Adopt-A-Block is, in litter control that is. Come out and support the society and show your colours in a large group photo!

P.S. Vests will also be supplied at event.

We are active in litter control in Mission, B.C. Volunteers at the Spring 2009 Clean-Up.

Mission is Moving Mountains!

Mission is moving mountains...of litter, that is!


June 01, 2009, the District of Mission made it mandatory that residential curb side garbage be secured in litter bins, and to be no longer left on the curb side in plastic bags. The purpose of this change is to reduce the amount of litter caused by animals (crows, dogs, racoons, etc.) that rummage through curb side garbage! The implication of this change is incredible, as much of the litter in Mission's residential neighbourhoods is caused by the poor handling of and disposal of curb side garbage - and plastic bags make it all to easy for animals to rip apart to get their tasty 'midnight snack'. A round of applause and a standing ovation to the District of Mission for initiating this significant change in curb side garbage collection 'behavior' - another great step towards reducing litter in the environment.

Saying good-bye hasn't been this much fun!

Businesses Building Hope

It's heartening when businesses think of 'litter control' as a volunteer opportunity and as a means to contribute to the good of the community. Businesses can play a big role in modeling ecological citizenship to others!

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Mission's Royal Bank chose to participate in a clean-up of Railway Ave. and the West Coast Express station area as a part of their bank's National Community Week (June 22-26) agenda. Two by two, bank employees all took turns tidying up neighbouring areas, collecting bags of litter and properly disposing of it. Adopt-A-Block's colorful vests, pickers and blue bags were proudly used in this successful community contribution. Imagine spending an hour of your work day volunteering, getting outside, contributing to the health and well-being of the community, being a role model in environmental action... Can anyone say, team building and employee moral booster?

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Adopt-A-Block is pleased to recognize Starbucks (Mission Junction) as the Society's first formally registered volunteer 'business' in litter control. In June 2009, the Starbucks team adopted the heavily littered route of London Ave., the main access road that takes all traffic coming and going from the Junction. This street is not only a hotpsot due to its location to 'food on the go' retailers and its function as a joining street between the main highway, commercial areas and the industrial area nearby; but Lane Creek, a sensitvie salmon habitat runs in the same neighbourhood. All litter tossed into the ditches along this street ends up in this sensitve waterway to some degree at some point. The Starbucks team engages in litter clean up of this significant litter route once a month. Every contribution helps! Now just think of the implications if each business in the Junction followed suit and joined this litter collection action!

This litter is headed for one destination and one destination only, the sensitive salmon habitat of Lane Creek! What's wrong with this picture? (Picture: Ditch along London Ave. 2007) Thanks to volunteers like the Starbucks team cleaning up messes like this - you are making a difference!

A System of Hope

It is easy to let hopelessness wash over you when you take a closer look at the green spaces in our community where flora is decorated with litter items including fast food wrappings, cigarette butts and numerous decaying garbage articles.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard comments along the lines of, "the litter shouldn't be there in the first place, people should know better, our leaders should do something to make people think twice about littering like slap litterbugs with tougher penalties" and so on. I could ramble on at this point about why people litter, this would include a long list of psychological, socioeconomic, and other reasons as to why litter is a problem we face today. But all I will tell you is that, you don't know what you got until you don't have it or rather, you don't know what you got, until you compare it to what others have or do not have.

And what I have found is that we can truly be thankful for the systems in place to manage our garbage. These systems make it possible for us to dispose our garbage in the first place! I'm talking about the fact that we can put our garbage out on the curb and have it properly disposed of at a landfill site; and the cherry on top, we have curb side recycling and composting in Mission, B.C. We have it so good, we don't even know it. What would our green spaces look like if this system was not in place? I can imagine. When I travelled to Nigeria in 2007 I witnessed this predicament.

Shel Silverstein's "Sarah Stout" who would not take the garbage out would find Nigeria a most desirable home. There, no one takes the garbage out. Garbage lines the streets, the ditches, the corn fields, the markets, the hillsides, the street embankments; it is simply everywhere. Imagine the stink. Imagine the unsightly landscape. In Nigeria, there is no waste management system in place; there is no landfill for that matter. There is litter everywhere because there is no litter bins to toss garbage into in the first place, and no designated place to take the garbage even if it were put in the trash. (Notwithstanding obvious reasons for Nigeria's impoverished landscapes such as poverty, corrupt governments, etc.) On one hand, witnessing the environmental degradation of litter in places like Nigeria generates further hopelessness; on the other hand, it carries a message of hope. The message of hope is obvious, we live in a country where our government invests in a system to manage our waste. It may not be perfect, but it exists. Perhaps, when we can see 'what we have' here in Mission, B.C. and seeing what it would look like if we 'did not have' - we can not only feel hope again about the state of the environment and the problem of litter - but we may also be able to help developing countries to develop workable and affordable waste management systems.

Litter in the waterways... (Jos, Nigeria)

Litter forms road embankments... (Jos, Nigeria)

Litter fills urban spaces... (Jos, Nigeria)