The cleanup activity with Scout School

 Latvians have long had a tradition of talka – the work that neighbors, relatives, and friends do together. In English we can use the word “cleanup” to describe talka, but still, it doesn't encompass the full meaning of the tradition as it skips some of the vital parts. The request "nāc talkā!" (come help!) remains in everyday language and is used when help, participation, or joint action is needed. Historically talka follows the rhythm of seasons and land. The word itself is phonetically similar to terms in neighboring languages: Lithuanian: talka; Estonian: talgud; Polish: tłoka; Hungarian: kalaka; Ukrainian and Belarusian: toloka.

Is there such a tradition in Sakartvelo?

As talka is included in the list of non-material cultural heritage of Latvia, we give extra attention to preserving the tradition – in this case a massive, decentralized and official main event once every year.
By the inspiration of our neighbours Estonians, and to celebrate the 90 years since creation of Latvia, in 2008 we organised our first national “Lielā (big) talka”. But we went further and aimed for the world together with our Baltic neighbours. Now, almost 20 years later since the start of Lielā talka, the Baltic initiative of World Cleanup Day is internationally recognised as well. Since 2018 World Cleanup Day has been organised by non-governmental organisation “Let’s Do It World” and since 2024 it is officially recognised by being included in the United Nations international day calendar on 20th of September.

This year the international Earth Day was on April 22nd and Lielā talka in Latvia on April 25th which perfectly fit with our Scout School Saturday in Rustavi.  Together with Jaco and Mao we decided to have a cleanup action in the city. Although it is difficult to call the event talka as, in our limited time, we skipped the most important part — a meal together — but still, a collective action was not left out. 

We started the day by having a conversation on the topic of Earth Day and sharing insights of me and Mao on simple ways to help the earth. For me two main aspects seemed to be: 1. Energy – how we look at it, where is it wasted, what kind of forms it can take and is it “made” responsibly; 2. Compost — what, why, where and how. The fact left for very end was that it is estimated for 90-95% of global souls to be degraded as opposed to around 30% at the moment. When the biomass is harvested year after year, when the soil is left bare, is tilled and is not carefully built back, the soil becomes eroded. A once fertile soil becomes barren and poor. That is where small scale compost comes in. By using compost, the soil can be built back, plus the great added benefit — organic matter that has the potential to be a healthy soil doesn't go to a landfill to produce methane. We followed by a small intro about cleanup actions in the Baltics and acting local while thinking global.  

The intro was followed by the practical action and going out of the ISCR equipped with trash bags and gloves. As the most common form of litter often goes unnoticed, but is still highly harmful, we gathered the cigarette butts in a separate bag to emphasise their presence in our daily lives.
Although, of course, it is not likely for individual actions to change the systemic issues — a comprehensive, accessible and sustainable trash management —, but individual actions are those that influence personal attitudes.  

The small actions, when with a universal and humane meaning and on a scale, are the ones that change not only personal attitudes but also bring systemic change.