I think we often forget change starts with ourselves.

When I was on my return leg back home this morning, I received a lovely gift! I saw one of my fellow dog walkers Alan in the near distance, with his two rescue dogs. Alan was carrying a littered tree protector wrap.

The back story to this skip inducing site started 5 months ago when I moved in to Rillington with partner Stuart and dog Bertie the springy springer spaniel.

We moved here because of the open spaces, an adventure playground on our doorsteps.

Our adventures kept local because of an unplanned house renovation and a new job role for me and if anyone reading this little story has or has ever had a springer then they know its a lovely but full time job keeping your springer a happy, relaxed and the right amount of spring.

One of Berties favourite places to de-spring and safely chase round like a complete loon, is a small woodland a few minutes walk from our home. ( image of woodland taken from google maps )https://goo.gl/maps/4mcvaevpbXygeUYC9

The woodland I have been told by locals was planted in 2000, to commemorate a new Millennium.

I think the majority of people are all for the planting of new woodlands, the benefits are vast, from the well known capturing of Carbon, to the creation and maintenance of biodiversity of animals, insects, fungi and everything in-between.

But I have to be honest I have a huge bug-bare with the accepted use of plastic wraps which initially serve to protect tree seedalins and which often get left in the environment to apparently decompose.

My annoyance with these tree wraps is simple, they are a form of littering. They site in the environment creating no benefit and potential harm for wildlife that shares the space with the new trees. They also creat negative behaviour change.

The tree wraps left in the environment as litter encourages bad behaviour from humans to leave food wrappers and drinks containers behind. and to behonest i’m just pretty cross at the hypercriticism of governments and NGO”s and charities who apparently support sustainability goals of reducing litter on land and below water and then stick a load of shit in to the environment without considering who the hell is going to collect it.Time to calm down i think.:-)

So being a human with a, see it sort it, attitude obviously whilst Berti is running round like a loon possibly terrorising the local rabbits and phesants ( sorry rabbits and pheasants )I started a few months ago to collect and move the wrappers down to the nearby council bin.

Fortunately I have got used to funny looks ( you get that a lot when you’re a long string bean of a thing ), and I got a lot of funny looks and questions when i started removing these wrappings and the cans and food wrappers from the woods, by other fellow dog walkers.

I bumped in to Alan one day in the woods, of my favourite fellow dog walkers. I was picking up littered tree wrap and moving them to the edge of the woodland to later move down to the bin, I think he was quite bemused and asked me in his gruff but kind voice.

what are you doing?

I answered, telling him that I had decided to move the littered tree wraps down to the bin as part of Berties dog walk.

He gave me one of those, what are you doing that for?looks.

So I asked, what would you do?

[ BTW Alan, is a very capable man who had a long career in the forces]

At the time he said he would do nothing, shrugged and that was the end of that conversation and we walked back together and the conversation moved on.

So you can imagine my surprise and delight yesterday ( 05/02/2022) when in the near distance i spotted Alan with his two rescue dogs with a tree wrap in hand walking in the direction of the council bin.

I had noticed the tree wraps steadily moving from the side of the woodland where I initially pile them before then moving them down to the bin, where the local council caretakers have been taking them away to be properly disposed of.

So you see positive change starts with me and you. We all have a small light that can make small changes, and then slightly bigger ones, and bigger.

Thank you to all my new friends in Rillington village, you make me smile.

J