Today my dear blog friend,
Traude, has begun a new venture entitled:
She shares the same passion I do about making simple changes in our lives that will have a positive impact on our surroundings and thus our environment and hopefully the world at large.
In her words, "A New Life" is about "mindfulness, sustainability and quality of life."
She asked that we share ways in which we are working to make a difference and as most of you know, I'm involved with a community garden called "The Secret Garden" that was started by a young Kuwaiti chef who is also passionate about the environment and creating a sense of community.
In November, I organized a yarnbombing event at the garden which was a huge success. On Saturdays we do gardening, crafts, and storytime; and during the week, we sometimes have school children come for field trips to learn about planting and composting.
Sadly, one of the biggest problems faced in this country is garbage.
I post pretty pictures from my walks, but the truth is that everywhere I go, there is garbage piled up, trash littering the streets and strewn just about everywhere. And that's even with a large number of street cleaners who are out there every day from early morning doing their best to clean but losing the battle because of the lack of litter laws.
The Secret Garden is actually a public space and the government recently contracted a new company to maintain it, purportedly because the previous company was not doing a sufficient job. I saw the new cleaning team there one morning this past week and assumed that the next day I would find a nice, neat, tidy garden space.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. I was appalled by the condition of the garden the next morning and spent the next hour and a half cleaning and organizing.
Most people wouldn't even bother themselves trying to tackle this problem. It's a never ending dirty job but the lack of respect for the environment is one of my biggest pet peeves and is something that I get on my soapbox quite often about. Because it is the right thing to do, I do it. I can't fix the problem, but I can certainly be part of the solution and hopefully inspire others to also want to contribute positively to their community.
Let us be good stewards of the Earth we inherited. All of us have to share the Earth's fragile ecosystems and precious resources, and each of us has a role to play in preserving them. If we are to go on living together on this earth, we must all be responsible for it.
Kofi Annan
Please visit Traude at her blog
Rostrose to read how others are creating change through lifestyle choices, by giving back or by tackling a problem and making a difference.
Have a fabulous Friday!
