Community Clean-Up was a clean-up drive planned on many weekdays in January and February 2024. In this drive, we were expected to clean ponds and riverfronts, which included either picking up waste such as plastic on the riverfront or using a rake to remove aquatic weeds, water lettuce, to be specific, from a pond. The purpose of this drive was to foster a mindset of sustainability, and even to understand the outcomes and consequences of human actions such as waste disposal. In my hectic routine, I rarely find any time to connect with nature through meditation, or even take small steps towards sustainability. However, this clean-up drive gave me a chance to make a significant contribution towards nature, and even reflect on the collective actions of humans, especially in the context of waste disposal.

Learning Outcome 2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

The clean-up drive required me to use a rake for the first time in my life to remove water lettuce from a pond, and this required a lot of physical effort. The rake itself was a heavy tool, and holding it in a way that it does not hurt others working around me, I had to be very careful while removing the water lettuce. Moreover, removing many water lettuce at one go was a challenge for me. This was because I rarely engaged in any physical fitness activities, and this drive required a lot of physical exertion. Additionally, as the roots of the lettuce absorbed water and were soaked in water, the lettuce felt heavier than usual, which was an added difficulty for me. However, I also developed my endurance while engaging in this physically demanding activity by focusing on how important weed removal was for the native bird species. Ialso tried to focus on the fact that this would bring me closer to nature as I was making my contribution in protecting nature by doing this activity. The skill–endurance–that I enhanced during this activity would help me excessively in the future, especially when I face unexpected challenges that require physical or mental exertion. Endurance is an essential skill required for going through any challenge without giving up, and I realized this during my clean-up drive, which made me grateful to have undertaken such a challenge. Thus, removing multiple water-soaked and weighty water lettuce with a heavy rake while trying to overcome my lack of physical fitness was a huge challenge for me, but I developed my endurance along the way.

Learning Outcome 5 – Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

During this clean-up drive, especially when removing water lettuce from a pond, there were multiple roles that had been assigned to different people to allow efficiency in the clean-up. There were people divided in different groups and assigned specific tasks. Some people used a rake to remove the lettuce from the edge of the pond and were gathering it in a pile. Some people stepped into the pond and collected water lettuce from far away and brought it near the edge of the pond, while others helped those water lettuce and raked them out. I was assigned the role of passing the water lettuce that some students passed to me from the pond, and I passed it on to another person behind me, who then threw it in the forming pile. This way, we tried to remove as many water lettuces as possible, and it required all of us to work collaboratively and assign specific roles to each other in order to achieve efficiency in the process. While doing this, I realized that working together and doing your own assigned role efficiently is important in many places, especially at a workplace where you work in a particular department, to achieve the desired goal.

Learning Outcome 6 – Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

Invasive aquatic weeds is an emerging problem that can be seen in many water bodies, especially ponds, worldwide. Not only this, but waste disposal and management is also a global issue, owing to the fact that waste is often carelessly disposed near or in water bodies, and contributes to water and soil pollution, among many other issues. Aquatic weeds can cause disruption of ecosystems, and can block sources of water for the use of humans as well as bird species who use the ponds as source of drinking water. Waste disposed on the riverfront or in the river causes water pollution, and plastic, the major contributor of waste, can take years to degrade, and if it is left on the riverfront, it can cause the soil on the riverfront to become contaminated. Moreover, the waste can also get into the river from the riverfront, and can be consumed by marine life, and can cause the destruction of marine ecosystems. Thus, by taking small yet significant steps to remove aquatic weeds and reduce waste near the river, I demonstrated engagement with the global issue of water pollution and biological pollution. 

Learning Outcome 7 – Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

While cleaning the pond and riverfront, I was given gloves, mask and biodegradable bags. I ensured that I did not dispose of the same recklessly, as carelessly throwing waste in itself is unethical behavior. Moreover, while cleaning the riverfront, I frequently found common household waste, such as packets of chips, or plastic bottles, and newspapers. This made me realize how we often neglect the consequences of our actions, and show disregard for the harm our actions do to the environment. This conflicts with my moral values, especially because we often claim to advocate sustainability. Furthermore, I found idols of God while cleaning the riverfront, which made me realize how we treat the environment as well as the God that we claim to worship, and that we dispose of their photos and idols without care. I consider this to be unethical behavior, as it highly stands in contrast with our moral beliefs. Thus, dealing with, or recognizing such ethical issues made me feel more acquainted with the truth of our actions. 

In essence, this clean-up drive was a successful one, especially for me, since I developed the learner profile attribute, “Caring”. Through this drive, I got to learn where some of our waste ends up, how weeds affect the marine ecosystem, and became more enlightened about the environmental problems in my own city, Surat. My learning and in-hand experience with the waste disposal issue made me more committed towards service for the environment, and encouraged me to work positively in taking a step towards sustainability.