EDMONTON, Alberta – A huge inflatable swan was lazily floating down the North Saskatchewan River.
My boyfriend Rob (Hi!) and I were crossing the bridge and we caught the curious sight of a huge inflatable swan floating down the river. It was about 20 degrees Celsius out – still fairly cold for those who are not used to colder climates (or, colder AC conditions).
Whoever was riding the inflatable swan didn’t seem to mind the slightly cooler summer conditions – cool summer weather, chilly waters, and the slight dangers of freely maneuvering an inflatable bird down a huge river.
I know summer is important and we gotta catch some sun and summer feels – but there was really no one else doing it.
That’s one dangerous bird.
A quick Google search tells me that the North Saskatchewan River is a “glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan.” It’s home to a couple of fish species too.
From our vantage point on the bridge that helped us cross the North Saskatchewan River, Edmonton looked beautiful.
The inflatable dangerous bird was a plus.
The river went on for miles, running peacefully through Edmonton, through thickly covered parks on either side of the river and sprawling golf courses. As I took a moment to watch the large bird lazily (and dangerously) make its way down the river, I wished I could have more sights like these back home in the Philippines.
From where I stood, we were pretty close to the city center. It’s pretty awesome to know that there is so much nature – clean green spaces with trees and animals (hello, bunnies and squirrels!) and alive rivers – present in a city. And widely present across other places in Canada as well.
Environment policies and practices in Canada seem to be working as nature continues to thrive in the country, and resources and wildlife continue to be protected through policies and enforcement. And a lot of mindfulness from the public.
Much still can be said of how we take care of our rivers and nature back home in the Philippines.
Rivers have turned into sewage lines and trees and mountains have been cut from commercial and residential establishments. And here we are complaining about flooding – when we have lost our natural waterways.
While we don’t have floating inflatable swans in our rivers – we got a lot of floating garbage. That’s nothing to write home about – nothing to be proud of.
We need to change this.
A little mindfulness does go a long way. I know it’s pretty old – but for the love of all things holy, pretty, amazing and important – don’t throw your garbage into rivers or anywhere for that matter.
Rivers are here for us (and not garbage!) to enjoy – swim and float in – let’s make it happen.