Thames River Clean Up at Meadowlilly Woods

Well, I haven't written a blog lately and I thought that I should.  Haven't done a whole lot lately but this week I took part in something that was important to me.  I helped out at a local clean up for the Thames River at Meadowlilly Woods with the Friends of Meadowlilly Woods.  This is a great opportunity to get involved in helping to clean up the local river.   It is quite an eye opener to see what things can be found in the water and along the river bed.   We found lots of scraps of metal, glass, tools, car parts, the usual coffee cups, cans and bottles, pieces of clothing/furniture and even a shopping cart.   I know it could have been a lot worse but it's still pretty bad.  What bothers me the most is how does this trash end up here.  Why are people polluting the river?  They must know its wrong, especially in today's age with all the warnings we have about pollution.   Do people not care about the river or the animals that live in it?   I really don't get how people can still pollute a river this way.  It is just wrong on so many levels.   Do people not understand if they put something in the river it will float further down?  I really want to know how we can prevent people from dumping things into the river.  Do we need more education on water pollution?  Anything dumped into the water will eventually make its way back to us.  Although London's drinking water comes from Lake Erie and Lake Huron, the river eventually drains into these lakes so it is still a concern that it could effect humans through consumption.  Also, indirectly if someone were to catch fish in the Thames and eat it it would have chemicals from the water or if someone went swimming in it too could be harmful if there were toxins.   It just boggles my mind how people can be so careless.   I know that their has been other cleanups and groups doing river clean ups along the Thames which is great and I support it but how can we prevent pollution and dumping all together.  Well maybe we should all do our parts in cleaning up when we walk by the river? Maybe we need steeper fines and better moderation of the river.  Maybe people need more access to the dumps for dumping scraps or more curbside pick up.  Pollution is not good for the animals and plants that live in the river and it degrades water quality which again will affect the drinking water eventually.  You wouldn't want to have to think before you drink, ie think about what could be in the water you're drinking.  So if everyone thought about lawsuits after they pollute maybe they would think twice before dumping trash in the river.