I WAS walking the canal and feeling rather down about all the garbage and dog mess everywhere.

The canal path isn’t too bad mostly due to the volunteers that work along it. But our neighbourhoods are disgusting, especially Cashes Green.

As I pondered the problem of a general lack of respect for the greater committee that we all are a part of, including those who don’t take responsibility for their own garbage, I saw these mallards sleeping amongst more discarded refuse and thought how pathetic we humans can be.

The efforts of hundreds of caring people have brought the canal from a rubbish dump to a much appreciated travel route, a restorative natural corridor and to its almost original state (an amazing achievement in its own right).

It is a shame that some people are fixated on their own selfishness and lack of respect for the wildlife that eke out a living in our human world and the goodness that the canal restoration represents.

Julian Hudson

Stroud