This morning we did a clean up of the river near Bernadinu Sodas in central vilnius.. beautiful forest parkland absolutely flourishing with clover, nettles, dandelion and other summer herbs.. little white and yellow flowers among the lawns..favourite spot of young people to hang out and throw their beer and cigarette rubbish around..! We filled a whole dumpster bin and put the trash where it belongs.. but most important we took practical action to make the place we live more beautiful. There were five of us this morning, and maybe more next time. A teacher from the adjacent school would now like to organise a cleaning day with students! Thanks to vilnius group Mes Darom for collaboration.. they do great community clean up events in their city. And to Diemante, Tomas, Paulius and Anastasia who came to help! Picture is Paulius taking a sign from in the river..
For one moment when I was picking up lots of cig butts, I smelled the scent of cypress very strong.. I looked to see small cypress shrubs next to me.. I think they were appreciating it! Unfortunately the rubbish is already reappearing.. young people trashing their environment.. but we don't give up, and still believe that focusing consciousness on ecological cleanliness and community action is good work.. a fun way to make friends, anyway.
The post from Mes Darom:
Vilniečiai ir Vilniaus svečiai! Gavome prašymą pasidalinti žinute ir pakviesti jus, neabejingus aplinkos švarai, rytoj tvarkyti Bernardinų sode upės pakrantę. Susitikimo vieta ir laikas: Bernardinų sodo pietiniai vartai, rytoj, trečiadienį, 11 val. Tvarkytojai bus vaišinami pikniku. Kreiptis į https://www.facebook.com/kembledawsonwalk er arba el.paštu: kem@earthnet.us. Smagu, kad miesto svečiai inicijuoja tokias akcijas -------------------------------------------------------------------------Residents and guests of Vilnius! We have received a request to share the message and invite you in, indifferent to environmental cleanliness, tomorrow to clean riverside in garden of Bernardinai. Meeting point and time: Bernardine garden south gate, tomorrow, wuensday, 11 AM. Volunters will be treated to a picnic. Contacts: https://www.facebook.com/kembledawsonwalk er or e-mail: kem@earthnet.us. It is nice that visitors to the city initiates such cleanup actions
Made signs and information for rainbow environmentalist conference and leaving in next few days. Tomorrow: fill eroded hillside with soil and sow flowers and herbs.. I declared all my seeds in Vienna airport, but they said they have nothing to fear from Australia.. so here goes!
Also learnt that there is lots of vacant land around Lithuania.. so much water and people appreciate folks interest in traditional crafts and farming.. the EU pays farmers to leave fields idle, to protect agriculture in more inflated economies.. but greater benefit for Lithuania to let locals settle and create their own permanent sustainable villages.. people like the idea so far. There is possibility to do this on camp site of upcoming conference... So we will see if there are enough people keen on the idea! Even talking about the possibilites of ecologically friendly way of earning living and supporting family and country is a good start. And the water.. so fertile land here..