By Kara Firth, Bond University Journalism Student
A local Varsity Lakes woman has been hailed as a Good Samaritan for cleaning up popular walking paths around the local area.
Sixty-year-old Emma Spinks said she carried a dustpan and brush in her bag to clean up broken glass smashed on walkways.
“It was my mission to get rid of the glass and I was so determined that any bottles I would see that were broken I would take,” she said.
“You’d be looking at necks of bottles and really big pieces of broken glass that if you put your foot on, or happened to slip on, you really would have done yourself a hell of an injury.
“I’d like to see a trend started where people stand up in their community to make a difference because if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
However, whilst Mrs Spinks may have reduced the glass in places where locals frequent, she said the source of the broken glass was concerning.
Mrs Spinks said she thought some youth made deliberate attempts to break as much glass as possible.
“The young ones come along and smash them [bottles] in the place where children bike ride to school and they see it as a bit of a joke to try and break their tyres,” she said.
“You’d like them to understand that it’s their park too … they’re also responsible for the animals and birds there.”
Fellow community member Joanne Dogan said that a number of the youth loitering around the unlit park areas at night were responsible for the broken glass.
“Only once the youth have gone back to school will [the state of the parks] go back to normal,” she said.
“They need to light up those areas at night if they want to stop a lot of youth getting up to that kind of mischief.”
For any information on the Varsity Lakes park facilities, parks and environment, visit http://www.varsitylakesonline.com.au/Wetlands/default.aspx.
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