Blitzing Eco-Anxiety: An Interview With Natalia
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How one volunteer combatted her eco-anxiety and took back control by participating in litter clean ups
Natalia has been a dedicated volunteer with A Greener Future since 2020. She has participated in several litter clean ups over the past year and joins us today to reflect on her experience with the Butt Blitz.
Photo courtesy of Natalia Jureczek
How did you learn about the Butt Blitz and what inspired you to take action?
I had initially stumbled upon A Greener Future at the end of 2019 when I was looking for initiatives focused on litter cleanups and helping the environment. With the pandemic, I realized that I might not get the opportunity to volunteer as early as I had hoped and started to do litter cleanups on my own. During this time, I had seen AGF’s posts about their Spring 2020 Butt Blitz and saw this as my opportunity to participate in one of their initiatives! However, at that time, I had only been doing small solo waterfront cleanups so the goal of 5,000 cigarette butts seemed astronomical to me and I, unfortunately, gave up shortly after starting.
Charles Daley Park, by Natalia Jureczek.
Fast forward a few months and I ending up having a chance meeting with Rochelle while I was doing one of my solo waterfront cleanups and Rochelle was doing Love Your Lakes. It was completely coincidental that we were both at this small beach, but I could not be more thankful that I got to meet her!
When AGF was then planning the October 2020 Butt Blitz, Rochelle reached out to me about participating. I’ll admit the task still seemed daunting, but I had been so inspired by Rochelle those last few months and was genuinely honoured that she had thought to include me that I could not let this opportunity pass me by!
Did you have any previous involvement/experience in supporting other environmental programs?
I had previously volunteered with two different organizations while in high school and had also been a part of my high school’s Green Team. However, after high school ended, so did my involvement. I had remained passionate about the environment throughout this whole time, but it took seeing a cigarette lighter being caught in a cycle of it being washed out onto a beach only to be taken back in and so on that I realized this cycle would continue unless I did something.
This led to my cleaning up that entire beach right there and then. This was at the beginning of 2019 and it truly reignited my passion to help the environment and led me to look for environmental organizations that I could volunteer with. This series of events was how I found out about AGF.
Due to the pandemic, I did not have the opportunity to participate in any formal initiatives with AGF until the October 2020 Butt Blitz. Being a part of that team made me look forward even more to the days when I can participate in a waterfront clean up organized by AGF and meet other like-minded individuals in person!
Charles Daley Park, by Natalia Jureczek.
What is the biggest takeaway you had from participating in the butt blitz program?
I had a few big takeaways:
Picking up 5,000 cigarette butts is not as daunting as it seems. I ended up picking up 8,092 butts of which 4,750 were picked up in one weekend.
The Butt Blitz was beneficial not only for the environment, but also my mental health. I had started to get anxiety from all the litter I was seeing everywhere I looked, but taking part in the Butt Blitz helped me see that I was making a tangible difference. There was one area in particular at Port Credit that was absolutely covered in cigarette butts, but being able to look behind me as I worked my way through the area and actually be able to see the ground without any butts showed me that I was capable of making a difference! I knew that there was still a lot to be done, but I was happy that I could be doing those changes with a little less anxiety weighing down on my shoulders.
There is beauty to be found in picking up litter if you look for it. Looking beyond the unfortunate reason of why I had to be doing a cleanup in the first place, there is beauty to be found because at the end of the day, I was spending time outside by the water. I also tried to time my cleanups so that I could catch the sunset over the water which made the cleanups a little more enjoyable.
Bal Harbour Park, by Natalia Jureczek.
How did participating in the butt blitz help with reducing environmental anxiety?
The Butt Blitz reducing my environmental anxiety was an unexpected outcome, but the impact was tremendous! I had always been aware of litter on the ground, but it really wasn’t until March 2020 that I really started to pay attention to it and notice it everywhere I went. By the middle of summer 2020, I was having trouble breathing from all the environmental anxiety. Although I had been doing litter cleanups all throughout that summer, it really was during the Butt Blitz that I finally took my first normal breath in a really long time.
The Butt Blitz gave me the opportunity to see the tangible difference I was making and helped me come to the realization that even though I may be just one person, the difference can be seen and felt. Being a part of the Butt Blitz team only amplified that feeling as I saw the team posting their results from their cleanups!
What was your favourite part from the whole experience?
My favourite part of the whole experience was being part of a team that was working together to make a difference. Second to that was realizing that I always had it in me to meet the Butt Blitz goal!
Bal Harbour Park, by Natalia Jureczek.
Any other thoughts/feelings you’d like to highlight to others who are interested?
Sometimes it can feel like the task of litter cleanups is never ending, but it’s important to recognize that any cleanup done helps our planet in more ways than you could imagine!
