Caring for the Sea/Beach Clean Ardnahinch,Cork 

At 11 am on 22 June Elmo our 15 yr old dog and Deborah my wife of 19 years spent time on Ardnahinch Beach. This is close to our home and a favorite place to walk. Clean coasts regularly conduct beach cleans here. However there is always small plastics washed ashore from household waste and the fishing industry. We found fishing line, a ketchup bottle, bottle tops which create micro and nano plastics. As I picked and wondered would a group gather, I felt the loss of community. I looked down the beach and saw Deborah picking and felt unified in the shared activity. I felt sorry for the ocean that takes our waste and gets choked up by it. We spoke about the pain it creates and that we are so addicted to single use plastic that ends in the sea. When we were creating the image, a fish started to emerge. We wondered if it was tuna fish. I wondered if we could tune into our disregard for what happens to our waste when we dump it. The Ketchup bottle connected me to the ketching or Catching up we need to do to protect our environment. Elmo was lost as he moved between us both and as he waited brought his affection to anyone who would give him some. There are so many demands on our attention it’s hard to find the balance. The sea glistened and sparkled in the sunlight. We are committed to trying to reduce our plastic waste. We were satisfied that we joined the Radical Joy Community many of whom were honoring water, water sources, Seas and Oceans.