Humans might be the highest form of intelligence on the planet Earth, but that hasn't stopped us from destroying it in some of the dumbest ways possible.
From deforestation, to oil spills, to driving whole species to and toward extinction — we humans have quite a knack for destroying beautiful things.
But one Dutch man has had enough, and he's decided to do his part to make a difference. Tired of idly passing by the careless litter of his fellow humans, Tommy Kleyn decided it was time to start grumbling and start collecting.
Now, armed with just a trash bag and a grabber tool, Tommy has started a national movement. And he's not only transformed his town's river, but his outlook as well; he feels confident, accomplished, and more physically fit than ever.
After you read through his incredible accomplishment, will you be inspired to do your part for the world, too?
Please SHARE if you think we should do more to help nature!
Every day, Tommy Kleyn rides his bike to work along a local stream. It's a very pleasant commute, with the exception of one foul sight: garbage.
All along his route, trash is peppered along the riverbank. Plastic bottles, old toys, discarded boxes — the pollution is a glaring eyesore along an otherwise lovely river.
Frustrated, Tommy decided to finally do something about it. With a pair of "grippers" and a plastic bag, he got to cleaning.
It took only 30 minutes to completely fill his first bag — the same amount of time he had spent "moping about the trash," according to his Facebook caption.
Inspired to make a bigger dent, he vowed to fill one bag of trash each day that he passed the littered spot. He began to document his progress.
Every day, he set his alarm clock half an hour early, then headed out. Once he had filled a bag, he dumped it at the nearest trash bin, then made his way to work.
Though the work was sometimes difficult, he enjoyed being outside, and he felt very satisfied after filling another bag.
While picking up the garbage, he often stumbled upon some gross sights, like old sheets covered in muck and algae.
But sometimes, the trash he found made him smile, like this old children's toy.
He decided to take to Facebook with his project — and to his surprise, he soon had quite the following. Friends began to come out to the site to help him.
The project was gaining traction. People reached out to Tommy with friendly encouragement, like one comment which read, "There should be more people like you!"
Soon, Tommy was beginning to see quite the difference during his morning commute.
But what truly made him happy was coming across this Eurasian Coot. She had built a nest in the very spot he had cleaned up. Seeing this made all his hard work worth it.
Now, the river is dramatically different. With just a little bit of work each day, Tommy and his friends completely transformed this bank. Imagine what we could all do with just 30 minutes of our day.
Please SHARE if you think we should all try harder to do our part!
