Helping Nature Breathe
Nature is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. If nature is sick, how can we be healthy?
While hiking through various mountains, forests, and canyons, we admire, find inspiration, and draw strength from nature. We marvel at the depth of the canyon and its foaming river, the towering giant cliffs, and the density and colors of the forest; we enjoy the fresh air and gaze at the horizons and the natural world unfolding from the mountain peaks… Earth is seemingly the only planet where life exists, and it is under threat—threatened by both disasters and humans.
On October 13, 2018, we set off for the Lori region. This time, our goal was not just to spend time in nature, but also to cleanse the nature within us and the environment around us. Our cleanup route was as follows: we were to hike down the trail from Lori Fortress into the Dzoraget Canyon, walk to the Stepanavan Bridge, and then head up toward the city. After touring the fortress and learning about its cultural history, we began our descent. The Dzoraget Canyon is breathtakingly beautiful; the experience is entirely different whether you view it from above or from below. The sheer scale of the natural cliffs stretching upward is breathtaking, and beneath them, a narrow path winds through the colorful grass, leading down toward the Dzoraget River, which alternates between foaming rapids and calm flows.
We are used to picking up plastic bottles, cups, plates, and food packaging from nature, but here the situation was a bit different. In addition to those items, the majority of the waste consisted of plastic bags, baby diapers, and clothing—some torn, some intact. And all of this was caught in the trees along the riverbank. Looking at it, you felt as though the trees were suffocating. The trash had become so entangled with the trees that it was very difficult to remove. A heartbreaking sight. The 30 bags of trash the children collected provided only a small and temporary relief for nature, as long as the city landfill remains in the canyon. How can a city landfill be located in such a place—right on the riverbank? Over time, wind carries the trash from above into the river, which then transports it elsewhere, polluting both the immediate and distant surroundings.
Our club spends a lot of time in nature, and the least we can do to show our gratitude is to avoid littering and to organize major cleanups from time to time. Our contribution may be small, but it is a fact that it helps instill a culture of environmental responsibility in the children. The fact that 27 children participated in the cleanup speaks volumes about the care both the children and their parents have for nature.