Esme Gordon-Craig always considered herself a good person and a good citizen, believing that refraining from harming the world and its people was sufficient. However, after moving home to Staffordshire in summer 2025, her understanding of what it means to be good underwent a significant transformation.
A chance encounter that changed everything
Earlier this year, while walking her dog along a canal, she stumbled upon her 83-year-old grandpa, Nicholas, scrambling up a nearby ditch. He was beaming with pride, wielding a litter picker in one hand and a bag filled with rubbish in the other. It turned out that Nicholas spends almost an hour every day litter picking—not just tidying up, but going to extreme lengths to retrieve even the most inaccessible rubbish.
Risky dedication to the cause
Nicholas risks his life for the sake of cleaning up the area. He clambers into bogs to reach empty Pot Noodle packets, climbs trees to collect dog poo bags left dangling in mid-air, and scavenges through thorns to grab empty beer cans. He is even prepared to fall into the canal to remove large logs that might damage passing boats. These efforts are as anxiety-inducing as they are heartwarming.
From observer to participant
Esme had never participated in litter picking beyond forced school sessions, but seeing her grandpa's dedication made it impossible not to get involved. Soon, she fell into a daily routine: walking with her dog and a podcast, then being directed by her grandpa to fetch whatever the public had discarded. This extended beyond litter picking—after a terrible storm, they spent half an hour straightening and restaking blown-over tree saplings. Now, Esme takes pride in seeing those saplings grow stronger.
A new philosophy on citizenship
Esme now practises her grandpa's teachings even when not on litter-picking excursions. She never walks past a stray can or takeaway cup without picking it up and disposing of it properly. She has also adopted more sustainable shopping, eating, and drinking habits, revolutionising the way she buys and bins items from coffee cups to fast fashion.
She has come to realise that being a good citizen requires more than holding correct views on international events or simply avoiding being bad. It involves going out of one's way to be helpful and making a positive contribution to society—making a practical effort to effect change, even on a small scale, rather than just aligning with grand worldviews.
Ripple effects in community and life
This experience has sparked a wonderful ripple effect. Esme now engages more with others in the community—boaters along the canal, appreciative of her clean-up efforts, have shared fascinating stories of life on the water. It has made her love her home town even more and left her eager to learn more about her grandpa's life and other extreme hobbies he might have.
Esme reflects that it has become the norm to feel that following activist Instagram accounts and reposting messages of love and hope are enough to cement one's moral status. But while spreading positivity online has some value, it is not the only thing we can and should do to make a difference.
