Reflections From The Noddleburn.

This may come as a surprise to those of you interested in the "No Poo" campaign: there is something worse than letting your dog poo outside and not picking it up. In my mind, at least, it"s a lot worse. It seems to be a bit of an illogical, crazy kind of thing to do. My hope is that if you know anyone who indulges in this absurd ritual then reading this article will help you convince them that they are literally only a step away from making tiny changes to their daily routine that will reap huge benefits for themselves, their fellow human beings and the entire earth.

I hear you ask "what could possibly be worse than leaving your dog"s poo lying for some poor unsuspecting soul to step on?" The answer is putting your dog"s poo in a plastic bag, tying a knot and then dropping the bag with its contents either on the path, on the grass or in the river. I ask you, how crazy is that? Doesn"t it make you stop and think what kind of person would go to all the trouble to bring the bag, pick up the poo, tie the knot (not always easy, especially when you have the dog on a lead, umbrella in hand and it"s pouring with rain and your fingers have frostbite!) and then just drop it.

You might say "well what"s the problem? At least they"ve bothered to pick it up. But I want to shout at them " YOU FOOLS! THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU"RE DOING!" I"m really not the sort of person who goes around shouting at people honest, but this is something that just makes me so annoyed especially when I know the people I"ve spotted doing it. I mean: they"re such lovely, neighbourly people. They certainly don"t mean to upset anyone. In fact we have often stopped and had lovely long chats together. Before you say "well why don"t you say something to them!" I have and with great success. One of them now throws the poo in the river wrapped in kitchen towel instead of a plastic bag. I hear you say "ah, that"s disgusting!" Don"t you see that"s not half as bad as the "bag it and drop it" approach. At least the poo goes the way of nature and decays eventually. Yes he is polluting the river and if everybody did it���..But think about it please. When he throws in the plastic bag plus poo (tied in never to escape) it is a double whammy in terms of pollution.

I live on the Noddleburn River. If you are a dog owner chances are you"ll have walked along the beautiful winding path that runs along side it. Last year I went out and took pictures of the plastic bags with poo in them trapped in the roots of a tree at the spot know as the "sandy bay" by local kids. It"s a favourite play-area in all sorts of weather.

When I"m not angry, I"m either feeling sad or disgusted at the amount of bags filled with poo just littering the walk along the Noddleburn. The same bags lie for weeks, maybe even months on end. Do you know, when I got involved in the "No Poo On My Shoe" campaign, I did it mainly because a friend felt strongly about getting a group going to deal with the issue. She was sick of her kids standing on poo on the way to school or the pram wheels getting covered in the stuff. My kids get the school bus and I don"t push a pram anymore: I"m alright Jack! At that time I didn"t have a dog either, maybe that"s why I heard myself saying that I didn"t think the Noddleburn had a "poo problem". Whatever the reasons, since I"ve got involved with the "No Poo" campaign I"ve begun to see things in a new light. It"s made me question much more how I help care for the environment; how I confront people in a way that is helpful and not hostile; how much I am a part of the picture whether I choose to be or not. Suddenly I find myself asking more questions about the litter on the beaches in and around Largs. I"m putting my dental floss in the bin instead of down the toilet. Gradually my life style is changing, a tiny bit at a time. It feels good.

Maura Ramsay