As a follow-up to my November article, I report that the littered state of the Georgia Walsh playground continues.
Being a woman of action, I emailed 311 with photos of the littered areas. They replied that my message had been forwarded to Josie, the park supervisor, who would contact me within three business days. She did not. They said I could call her if I didn’t hear from her. I did not. They did not provide an email address. Nor does the City of Toronto website. Hmmm….
Curious to see if anything had been done, I went over to take a look a week later. “Someone” had done something. And although there had been some improvement, the old litter seemed to have been replaced with a new batch of chip bags, drink boxes, a vodka bottle, and assorted other garbage “goodies.”
So, I took a bunch more photos, fired off another email offering to help, called the park supervisor and left a voicemail. Still no reply. Not sure what their policy is on responding to the public’s feedback.
Can you blame me if I feel like I’m living a John Lennon song? With apologies to Mr. Lennon….
Imagine there’s no litter
It’s easy if you try
No litter behind the bench seats
In the bushes,
or along the fence lines
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope one day you’ll join us
And the parks will be clean, and we will live as one.
Is hoping for a clean park on a daily basis really too much to ask of the City and the community? I used to clean it myself but no longer do as it seems a thankless and never-ending task. Plus, the design makes it challenging as you can’t walk easily behind the bench seats or along the tennis court fence, and the bushes along McRae have become a jungle. I do pick up garbage along the Rumsey Road fence as it is manageable, and I find it offensive to look at outside my kitchen window.
Thankfully, my son’s days of playing there are over. And the littered state does not seem to deter families, children and teens from using the park.
I guess if it doesn’t bother them, I’ll have to get unbothered too. Sad, really. We need to take better care of our green spaces as they take such good care of us.
