In the midst of a busy academic year, breaks come far and few. Fortunately, some of my friends here have the initiative to plan a good day’s outing. I am a man of low self-initiative when it comes to certain things such as planning out-of-town excursions. So when I was told that a 12 mile hike had been planned for in the Kent region, south of London, I decided to tag along.
The weather was delightful and we joined the hiking group right in time at Sevenoaks station. It was a long walk and you would expect a young bloke, such a myself, to feel hungry eventually. The simple picnic lunch would have to wait as there was still time for the lunch break, and so I had to help myself to a banana. When I was done, I needed to get rid of the peel (of course!). Strangely, and out of character, I mentioned my intention to throw the peel into the forest to my friends walking with me, which was when I was met with some opposition.
They were of the opinion that nothing should be left behind. Me being the one who would usually give eco-sensitive advice, the whole situation was bit weird. But I decided to give this some thought. I did have a trash-bag with me to collect any thrash that would be generated during the day but I’ve always felt that fruit and vegetable waste should never go inside a bin, but rather, straight into the garden. My friends argued that if all hikers decided that they would throw their fruit waste into the woods, it would create a nuisance. It seemed like a fair point. But at some level I was still uncomfortable about the idea. A fruit peel would take a few days to decompose. At an average of 50 hikers a day along a 12 mile route, would that really be a problem?
The economy of nature is a fascinating subject. At one level it is unfortunate that we need to understand the balance sheets so that we can rectify our wrongs, while at another level, it adds to the amazement of the symphony that is the biosphere. I did leave the woods without a trace, and the peel sat happily in the trash-bag. I would have to find a recycle point back in the city so that it shouldn’t eventually end up in a landfill.
Interesting points did occur to me about fruit and vegetable waste. It would definitely be wrong if fruit not native to the area be thrown into the forest (with the seeds, that is). The whole chapter on invasive species flashed across my mind. Powerful stories about invasive species which have created havoc in several places in the world. Maybe it was a good idea to leave nothing behind in the woods, the fruit have in any case been grown in plantations and they didn’t belong in the woods.
The hike was for a day, and we left the woods without leaving anything as much as a fruit skin behind. But how deeply we tread on our world all through our lives.
hey adi!
nice post. I would’ve put the peel in my trash-bag without thinking about it
I’ll still do the same, but there’ll be some thought behind it 