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The Litter District? |
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Written by Peter Burgess
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Thursday, 16 October 2008 |
 Litter from a walk on Scafell Pike
After watching the Bryson programme about litter on Panorama recently, I decided to really look out for litter next time I was out. It was suggested that for every piece of litter you can see in a hedgerow it accounts for only 10% of the total actually there. Indeed, on my ascents of Crag Fell, the walk with Lorraine Barks up Scafell Pike in September and a short 100 yards along a lane in Bowston in the Lakes the amount of litter to be found was quite staggering.
 Roadside litter As a youngster watching Wainwright in Scotland on the BBC, AW walked through the Mamore Forest I believe it was. I remember there was a brief discussion with Eric Robson about litter. AW had dropped his match after lighting his pipe and stated how he didn't see it as litter. In this remote location and with the fact that it's bio-degradable could we indeed site AW as a litter lout! Anyway, this article is not about apportioning blame. I guess we have all dropped litter whether deliberately or not. I have a Victorian photograph of Keswick Market Place and through an illuminated magnifier I was amazed by the amount of litter in the gutters. Whether there was a policy to clean it up at the end of the day I do not know, but the one big difference back then was that virtually all of this litter would be biodegradable. From packets to wrappers virtually everything was made from paper or cardboard. Most products from shops were sold from larger blocks (take butter and sugar from loaves for example) and then wrapped in a simple piece of grease proof paper.
Today, most products, in order to meet health and safety legislation aren't just wrapped but even the most simple stopper has another tamper proof lable or seal to show the purchaser that some lunatic hasn't injected their tomato ketchup with arsenic! All these systems are all very well, but on a brief perusal of my cupboards most packaging is plastic based and at least excessive in my eyes.  Are we all to blame?
However, the main point of this article is to entice all members of the OFC to be environmental stewards. On return to the carpark in Ennerdale I deliberately set about cleaning up litter, not only to make it look better (it was a mess) but also to demonstrate to others watching that they too could do something about it even if it wasn't their mess. The old adage goes, "Take nothing but photographs and memories, leave nothing but footprints". I really guess, that as Bill Bryson so clearly demonstrated and as I have witnessed on our beloved fells, many of us are certainly not doing that. I guess it's up to all of us to do our part and I hope that this article might inspire you to pick up some litter the next time you're out.What can I do?
If anybody is so moved by this article then perhaps OFC members would like to organise a litter pick at their favourite place or whilst out on a walk. I guess we can all do our bit for the environment and it might just inspire others to become involved. If there is enough interest why not organise a gathering of club members to make it fun! The OFC can supply prizes for the best littter pickers. Members can also become directly involved with Litter Action . Take a look at the website to see how you could become more actively involved or even start a litter picking group. Could we have an OFC litter troop? Since writing this article George Monck, Chief Executive of Cleanup UK has written to me suggesting a 'get-together'. George writes, "It would be great to harness all the conscientiousness that there must be among fellwalkers - people who really appreciate geographical beauty and the need not to spoil it. Thanks so much for adding a link to Litteraction - hopefully it will nudge some of your members to get a litter group started." |
| HAVE YOU SEEN? |
 Inspired by the Hugh Walpole novels and the Herries Chronicles, Lindsey has written a family saga based in the Lake District. It follows the lives of the Keldas family who run a small farm in the fictionary village of Keld Head. Northern Spirit is the first of three novels in this series and covers David Keldas's story. It is available to buy on-line from most good book retailers and also an e-book version on Amozon Kindle. |
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 COMPETITION: Since the centenary of Alfred Wainwright's birth in 2007, there has been a massive resurgence in interest in the man himself. With the revival of the Pictorial Guides as a result of being saved by Frances Lincoln Publisher, the recent televising of Wainwright's Walks with Julia Bradbury and the formation of the Society in his name, there has been renewed enthusiasm for anything AW. Along with Hunter Davies biography of Wainwright, this new book also announces itself as the biography of Alfred Wainwright. This review (with competition) focuses on Wainwright, His life from Milltown to Mountain by W.R.Mitchell. |
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