Community Adventures

I have been thinking for a while now that I should do something to help make the community I live in a better place to be.  As luck would have it I chanced upon a flyer for a "world cafe event" to discuss the future of my community at the local High School.  The event took place last night and with much trepidation I went along, dragging my poor husband along with me for moral support, (being far too chicken to go on my own).

I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach about the event and didn't book on until the very last minute.  After swinging back and fore between going and not going, I persuaded myself that I should go, as it would be a much better use of my time than collapsing in front of a film (again!).

When we arrived the hall was crowded with librarians, volunteer co-ordinators, community workers and no doubt a local councillor or two; but it seemed to me that there were very few actual residents to be seen.  I felt pretty uncomfortable and like the proverbial stuck out sore thumb.

We got down to the business of writing on giant pieces of paper our thoughts on three key themes.  A member of the local Community Council (Chairperson I think), was facilitating the group we were in (Transport and Environment), and a jolly nice man he was too.  He told me about the local cycle crossing he had been instramental in getting installed, which provides a much needed safe route from the nearby cycle path into the local retail park.  He explained that the crossing cost £60,000 pounds; I nearly fell off my seat.  I would have guessed at a max of £5k.  However, he explained to me that the retailers behind the park paid for the crossing, so at least it wasn't paid for using Council Tax. 

This conversation naturally enough led me on to the topic I wanted to input on, the state of the cycle path itself.  The cycle path is an old railway line and runs parallel to my house. I use it all the time and so do thousands of other Edinburgh residence to walk their dogs, cycle and jog.  I feel that the cycle path is really not very well looked after and with a bit more thought and attention it could be a real jewel in the crown for Edinburgh.  At the moment there are few rubbish bins, (none on the section I use regularly), so litter really builds up and trees and woodland which edge the path are not managed.  The lighting at night is poor and so unfortunately the path becomes a route for trouble makers.

The Cycle Path beside my house; seems nice until you take a closer look

Sadly enough however, the member of Council staff in our group just did not want to know.  I was told that tree maintainance on the path was not a priority and that the cycle path is in the best state it has ever been, which may be right enough, but it could still be better.  So, disillusioned and depressed we left the event after writing down our thoughts on the big piece of paper, sigh.

As I was on the path today, I took out my camera and decided to photograph all the mess that runs along the five minute cycle ride that I use regularly.  There was so much mess that I had to get off my bike and walk to photograph everything and it took me about an hour to get home, there was so much to document.  Here is a small selection of the delights I saw:

Rubbish right beside the new £60k crossing

Loads of KFC rubbish runs along the path

One of many plastic bottles; note the dog poo, lots of that too!

Lovely Graffiti

A plethora of sandwich and takeaway wrappers could be seen

Graffiti scrawl with lots of rubbish underneath

One of about 100 drinks cans along the 5 minute section

Lots of sweetie wrappers

These steps have rubbish and beer cans all the way up

The ubiquitous carrier bag

Hanging Dog Poo

The worst bit came when I ventured into the undergrowth, which is covering up a lot of the problem.  The hanging dog poo bags were everywhere and I only hoped someone would shout "gardyloo" before they chucked another bag at me as I took some snaps! 

The piece de resistance however was the most enormous pile of disposable fizzy drink cups, I could only get half of it in my picture:

On my five minute stretch I took over 100 pictures of rubbish and dogs' mess, and a lot of it I couldn't picture as it was high up on the banks and my little camera couldn't capture it.  If it was on the street in full view, no-one would put up with it, but because it is half hidden, it is quite literally swept under the carpet.

If this is the best Edinburgh can do, I feel really sad.

So my community work has begun with a poor start, as I have made exactly no difference and feel worse than I did before I began.  I am not sure what my next step will be, maybe I will go and litter pick myself, but that would be like a drop in the ocean as to what is really required.  Watch this space for my next Community Adventure...