This is the 94th article in an ongoing series that highlights the riches of Pigeon Valley, the urban nature reserve in the heart of Glenwood. The focus of this article is on littering
This column normally reports the riches of Pigeon Valley, but today I present its vulnerabilities, spurred by encountering this sight. Of course, it is no more affected by litter than any other area, but its unwelcome presence so violates the sense of connection to nature that the reserve represents. So, I did some thinking about what it means. People do manage to create rationalisations for littering, the most remarkable being that ‘you are creating jobs’. In reality, you are creating even more work for people but not any jobs.
South Africa has no lack of work to be done, but we lack the money to pay for the jobs and systems needed. This is like knocking down houses or injuring people because it forces someone to fix the homes or care for the people. In no way does it provide the resources needed to do that; if, in response to littering, the city employs people to clean it up, it reduces the resources for housing and clinics.
ALSO READ: Exploring Pigeon Valley: The Bar-throated Apalis
Ironically, the person or people who did this were probably there exactly because they enjoy nature. So maybe their actions can be seen as an expression of powerlessness – we would like someone to provide us a natural environment, but it is other people who protect it, not us. At another level, I think destructive acts are a way of proclaiming the trauma and lack of hope that pervades our society. I think middle-class people like myself tend to blame the poor and working-class for littering.
We are also the people who make the greatest use of protected areas like game reserves. However, it was not the poor who destroyed grasslands and forest for cane fields or coal mines or filled in marshes so factories could be built. Even our enjoyment of nature often seems to involve remarkably high carbon footprints that the poor can only dream of – lengthy car trips, air flights and even cruises – and the use of fossil fuels is one of the greatest threats to birds and other natural life.
If we wish to challenge littering, a degree of humility is needed. We need a fresh understanding of development, one that starts from a sense of empathy and respect for all forms of life, and that addresses our needs for food, housing and transport in ways that sustain and do not diminish life.
Crispin Hemson chairs the Friends of Pigeon Valley, a group that undertakes clearing of alien plants, keeps records of bird and mammal sightings and alerts management to any problems.
The Friends have a monthly walk at 7.30am on the second Saturday of each month. Email: friendsofpigeonvalley1@gmail.com.
Do you want to receive news alerts via Telegram? Send us a message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple
