If we want to do the right thing, it’s never late. And, there’s no better example for this than the Pat Smith, a 70-year-old woman whose life changed after she watched a documentary about the impact of plastic pollution on our environment and cleaned 52 beaches in the UK in 2018.
Saving the Planet Begins with Ourselves
In January 2018, Smith decided to begin her eco mission and fulfill her New Year resolution to make her community cleaner and better for everyone.
The inspiration came from a documentary she watched a year before on plastic pollution and realized she needed to do something. She knew that she needed to become “that someone” who will do something about an issue.
After her project of beach cleanup, she’s also done other environmental projects and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
The Beach Cleanup Project
During the year of 2018, this amazing woman cleaned beaches from Coverack to Blackpool Sands. She often had company and volunteers like her grandchildren or volunteers from Surfers against Sewage and Beach Guardian.
Often times, during the cleanup, people thought she was doing community service. She adds that people couldn’t understand that she was doing this voluntarily.
She believes that we all need to take responsibility and pick up our garbage and most importantly, not throw it in the first place.
A True Fighter for the Planet
Before the decision to clean up the beaches in her community, she also started a campaign to remove plastic straws in her city, Cornwall. Until now, she has successfully convinced 600 local companies to cease the use of plastic.
She wants to make her town an example of the plastic-free movement in the UK. To this extent, she has founded The Final Straw Cornwall that was launched in 2017.
She did this because she wants to raise awareness of the damage we’re inflicting upon our oceans with the support of single-use plastic.
She explains that she needs to do something about this major problem because of her children and grandchildren.
Further Projects
Recently, she has been named the Litter Ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy and she’s still doing some work with the removal of waste washing down into the sea.
With the UK government initiative to prohibit the use of plastic straws, she also intends to emphasize the importance of removing other single-use items like coffee cups and the plastic for wrapping foods and veggies in supermarkets.
She also participates in Plastic Unwrap events in local supermarkets.
Without doubt, this woman is a true inspiration and definitely someone whose example we all need to follow.
If we want to improve things in our environment, we need to start with ourselves. What are you doing to make your community safer and cleaner?
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