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2 Friday, September 8, 2017 brooklintowncrier.com Less than Half the Picture: By Richard Bercuson At Your Disposal It took three children and a grandmother, all with a sense of community purpose, to try to clean up a mess left by - best guess - local teens who party in the woods. Sisters Lucia and Finlay Alexander, 7 and 10, and Finlay's best friend Grace Cowen, also 10, have spent many an hour on their scooters or walking in and around the Brooklin Fairgrounds and skate park, something they've done most of their lives. They've also explored the roughly hewn, well trodden paths that branch off the paved one behind the Vipond Arena, behind the skate park. One of those paths leads to the nearby creek and is a favourite route to a small opening in the trees where teens congregate. It was there last week when the three girls and the sisters' grandmother Carol Kay came upon a veritable dumping ground. Strewn around the area as well as in the water, next to a dampened campfire and along the path were piles of garbage. Trees in the clearing had been spray painted. "We found cans and bottles, even a knife," describes Lucia. "There was also a sweater, shirt, socks and towels." "We've been down these paths many times before," says Carol Kay, "but the garbage is getting much worse. I'd never seen it so bad. The girls also found the trash can at the skate park overturned and its contents littering the ground. They picked it all up and put the can back." The girls were shocked at what they saw in the woods, so much so that, upon finding a large green garbage bag, they decided to make a point by filling it up, too. They loaded the trash bag with every bit of human evidence they could find, including garbage from the creek bed a few metres away. With the bag so full it was too heavy to lug out, they left it there, wide open, a clear message to the next gaggle of visitors. Still, it didn't seem to say enough, they thought. How else to make their point? Among the detritus were a notebook and pencil. "The pencil didn't have any yucky stuff on it," says Lucia, "so we used it." They all contributed to writing a note. It said: "We just cleaned up all your garbage - don't throw it on the ground. Put it in the bag. The turtles, frogs, beavers, squirrels live here, too. Try to care more about nature & keep this place clean." They placed the notebook, open to the page with their note, on a log next to the campfire's embers. Satisfied with the cleanup and message, Lucia, Finlay, and Grace got back on their scooters and headed out to their regular jobs as children playing, the part-time gig as disposal agents temporarily done. "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 Published 24 times annually Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 editorofbtc@gmail.com Locally owned and operated. A publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: 905-655-7642 Email: yeswomanbrooklin@gmail.com Next Issue: Friday, September 22, 2017 Deadline: Friday, September 15, 2017