So last week I managed to combine some filming with a cause very close to my heart – cleaning up the environment!
I received a pair of waders for filming purposes back in the Spring, but what with lockdown and everything else I didn’t get a chance to film in them until recently. They made their maiden voyage last week and I’ve got to say, they are a lot of fun! I could walk right through the lake no problem – and stay completely dry! Those of you who love Wellies will enjoy the clip, which can be purchased here. There will definitely be more to come, now that muddy season is definitely upon us!
I also made sure to take some gloves and some bin bags and my camera-lady and I spent a lot of time picking up rubbish. This particular spot is a unique area for wildlife, being a disused quarry that has been left to its own devices. The lake itself is a rare example of standing water in chalk (it’s called a marl lake). There are several big fish that live in there, along with frogs and newts and all other kinds of dragonflies and insects. There is so much wildlife, so many birds, to be found around here, and it is one of my most favourite spots to come for a walk or sit and read my book.
However, during lockdown, the place was visited by scores of people, a lot of whom clearly had no respect for the environment or the creatures who call this place home – or the humans that enjoy it as much as I do. The place was trashed, rubbish everywhere, scorch marks on the ground where people had been having barbecues, broken glass all over the show, all manner of junk chucked in the lake – it broke my heart. The ignorance and selfishness of a lot of humans is something I will never understand and I decided to do something about it.
The area was managed by the Wildlife Trust until their funding ran out a few years back, so it’s not really taken care of by anyone anymore, despite being an area of Special Scientific Interest. The council and volunteer groups pop in from time to time but not enough to keep on top of the mess that the ignorant leave behind. So I now make a point of picking up as much rubbish as I can whenever I visit. There is a bin on the pathway on the way back home so it really isn’t any hardship at all to take a bin bag, fill it up, and dispose of it sensibly on the way home. I would like to encourage everyone to do the same where possible – if you are out and about in the countryside, or the beach, or the woods, anywhere – and can pick up some of the rubbish left behind by moronic humans, please do so – we only have one planet and if we can’t look after it and respect it, then in my opinion you don’t deserve to live on it!
So enjoy the clips of me in my wellies and my waders, but also remember – that we have a responsibility to look after the world we live in, and if you drop litter, then I despise you and hope your existence is short. FOR REAL.
