The beach

The beach was filled with dead fish. I kept asking myself: why? Who did this? I never found an answer. It felt unreal, like the sand had suddenly turned into bodies and the whole shoreline was breathing loss.

Six months later I came back to that same place, but this time to collect trash. I was not alone. Five of us walked together, picking up everything we could find. We filled five trash bags of 50 litres. It was hard work, yet it became one of the most joyful experiences I have ever had.

The little Joe

We helped many small animals that day, but one stayed in my mind. A little crab, later named Joe, was trapped in a plastic net. He could not get out on his own, so we carefully cut the net away. Joe did not look grateful at all. The moment he was free, he pinched us as hard as he could.

After a short “fight”, Joe finally stopped pinching and disappeared between the rocks. I like to think he went back to his life, just with one less piece of plastic holding him down.

A huge metal stick

Later we stumbled across something I did not expect: an enormous metal stick, about two metres long. It was so heavy that I could barely lift it. Cigarette butts and small plastic pieces sadly felt normal to find, but that metal rod felt different. It did not look like something the ocean brought. It looked like something a person left behind.

We kept walking until it was so dark that we could hardly see. We knew we had not even collected a quarter of the trash on that beach. On the way home my legs felt disconnected, as if they belonged to another universe and were not listening to me.

That night, the thought of all the trash still there would not let me sleep. I kept thinking about Joe. What if he got trapped again? What if the water was already too poisoned?

Walking with trash…

After that day, whenever I saw trash on the ground, I picked it up, even when it was uncomfortable. Sometimes I walked far just to find a proper bin. Sometimes I carried a smelly bag that made me feel embarrassed. Most of the time it was not pleasant, but it was worth it.

Do not be scared to look “weird” while carrying trash. If you want to help the sea, do it. Who knows… maybe you will meet another little Joe, and that small moment will stay with you for life.

It is also your sea.

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