‘The future of all life now depends on us’

David Attenborough

This programme, this man, these words and images – well they changed my view, my behaviour and my future. Hopefully they have changed many people’s futures for the better as they drilled home what a shit job we are doing of care taking this planet for the next generation.

Never before has a programme made such a social impact, the reaction on social media alone literally sent shockwaves around the world as to the impact we are having on our oceans.

What was most shocking is that this is all within our realms of control. Unlike Global Warming, we can not only halt, but reverse this damage if we act now and if everyone including governments and multinational cooperations get behind the urgency to make these changes.

The key buzz word that came from the Blue Planet 2 series was plastic. What was sold to us all as a reusable, recyclable material is anything but. We are not reusing and we are barely recycling, we are drowning in plastic, it’s everywhere and the amount we are using is out of control. It is in our seas, on our beaches, killing our wildlife and we ourselves are on the verge of ingesting it if we’re not already doing so.

I’d never thought too much about the future of the planet but the birth of my niece in September 2017 changed my outlook. She is the first child in our family and as I sat watching this incredible series at the age of 42 it hit me that unless we change things now, when she is my age, there won’t be an equivalent Blue Planet series for her to watch. If we carry on as we are, the coral reefs will be gone, beaches will have more microplastics than sand, and as for what sea life will have survived by then – well I’m not sure that bears thinking about.

This isn’t a world of a future I want for her, or that any of us can want for ourselves or our children or our children’s children. We have a responsibility to act. A moral obligation.

This is what spurred me on to start litter picking and do my bit, so my husband and I started beach cleaning on our days off. We are lucky enough to be in close proximity to a number of beaches on the Norfolk and Suffolk coast. On days we didn’t fancy driving to the beach, we would litter pick our village, our local park, anywhere we went really. Every little helps. This was the start of Litter Wombles. Documenting our beach cleans and litter picking to try and encourage others to do the same.

You don’t need major organised events, you just need a bin bag and the will to want to clean up where you live. It’s not rocket science, it’s picking up litter and putting it in the bin – we can all do it. Hopefully you’ll join me in what I consider to be a new way of life, of being a more responsible citizen….of bending down, picking up litter, and disposing of it.

It’s not hard is it!