The trees along the river are washing lines for plastic

‘The trees along the river are washing lines for plastic,’ commented river warrior Lynn Hinde as we pulled up layers and layers of plastic lining the banks of the Hennops River at the Red Barn in Irene.

Keketso and Ashnee from The Art of Living who organized the event.

A fun filled and friendly clean up organized by Keketso and Ashnee from The Art of Living for International Yoga Day proved rewarding and uplifting. River cleans are powerful as they invoke change in the mind of the cleaner bringing about a shift in consciousness and awareness.

Talia and Marissa Anassis working on minisass.org for Talia’s school project to determine if there is any life left in the polluted Hennops River.

As she cleaned, Marissa Anassis said her mind began working overtime to create solutions to the problem. Together Marissa and her daughter Talia - armed with a home made mini sass kit - braved the black sludge for a sample for Talia’s science project on the Hennops River. 

Education, education, education is key to combating this problem. Another angle we need to tackle is approaching the producers that are making plastic packaging. Chips packets abound and they can be placed in a biodegradable package. So I will sit down and get a list and start writing to the producers of this waste. Out of the crazy things found in the clean up today from baby socks to bras to blankets, black lace ubderwear took the prize. Dominic Cullinan blessed us with delicious pizzas after the clean up at the Red Barn Restaurant.

Thank you to all involved. The Hennops River sighs in relief and gratitude. It is filled with pollution but we will keep going and uniting in love to turn the sludge from black to blue water.