Since Birds Can't Talk

A Photograph That Has To Be Explained

Springfield, Ohio has recently benefited from improvements to our Center City as well as safety and technology infrastructure throughout the city. For example we are one of the lucky few cities of our size to have a fiber optic loop connected to one of the highest bandwidth networks available. We have all new city school buildings and even a brand new state of the art hospital.

Bridges are being rebuilt, roads are being resurfaced and utility supply lines are being upgraded. Our neighborhoods are being revitalized thanks to the work of Habitat for Humanity (44+ new homes) and significant neighborhood improvement funding for our city. We have bustling industrial parks in spite of a poor economy.

Even though things could always be better, people who I know in Springfield take great pride in their city and surrounding natural resources. When citizens join together they can accomplish remarkable feats. I've seen hundreds of people come together (in the pouring rain!) and build two houses in two days to help improve a neighborhood that they don't even live in.

For a person like me, it's the ideal place with multiple local parks, state parks, lakes and hiking trails all within a ten mile distance from downtown. Since 1975 Springfielders have enjoyed the multiple benefits of the C. J. Brown Reservoir and dam which controls the Buck Creek that flows through the center of Springfield. The reservoir also stores water for the city and is a great place to play.

One major improvement project has been to remove several obsolete dams along Buck Creek and replace them with whitewater sections (attractions), allowing Buck Creek to be traversed by kayak. The project which was managed by Kevin and John Loftis has turned out beautifully.

Prior to this the Buck Creek was hidden by mostly shrubs weeds and nearly two-hundred hundred years worth of man-made junk. They created a huge open space along the creek, removed tons of junk, lined the whole area with huge limestone blocks and improved the surrounding landscape revealing a once hidden natural resource and a magnificent view.

It didn't take long for wild herons to notice that the new gradual whitewater drops made great fishing spots. It became a common sight to see herons fishing right outside the museum office windows where I worked. A friend of mine encouraged me to get a few shots of this beautiful scene. So one nice afternoon, after work, I found myself sneaking up on a heron with my camera ready. This heron had been fishing in the same spot for about a week.

Most wild herons are very shy and have a large comfort zone. If you enter this zone they will usually fly away. Herons will trust some humans though, like fishermen, and their comfort zone can shrink to a few yards. Since this heron stood several feet tall, I thought a perspective from as close to the water as possible would make for the best shot.

I managed to reach a spot right at the waters edge about twenty yards away from the heron without spooking him. It had definitely spotted me so I had to stay motionless for awhile, waiting for the heron to stop watching me. When the heron returned his attention to looking for fish, I began snapping photos and inching my way closer.

If you can imagine the classic cartoon or comic skit where someone is sneaking up on a person, but then freezes when the person looks up, only to resume when the person stops paying attention again. That actually worked in this case and I was able to get within a few yards of it, while still snapping photos, before it flew away.

Later on that evening I loaded the photos and went straight to the sequence of the heron catching a fish. After viewing the photos full screen I realized that I must have been too focused on the movements of the heron to notice the trash circulating through the frame. The one shot that I thought might show the fish in his mouth had a carelessly discarded water bottle blocking the view.

I knew that the heron had actually caught a fish because in the next photo I can see it in his neck. A lot of things went through my mind. It was ironic because the the Springfield Museum of Art, less than ten yards away, was exhibiting a great photography selection by National Geographic Photographer Joel Sartore, titled “Fragile Nature”.

The traveling exhibit is intended to educate people about the effects of man made pollution on wildlife habitats. Being involved in the exhibition gave me a unique perspective of the artist and needless to say, he is a huge inspiration to me. While viewing his photos hanging on the gallery wall, the stories were clear, and the heron's story was happening right on the other side of the gallery wall. Literally!

There was no way I could send these depressing photos to my friend who requested that I try to capture a beautiful scene. I was able to clean the trash out of some of the photos with PhotoShop and sent him a few. I told him how incredibly disgusting the other photos were to me, wondering who's fault this was. We had actually talked about this whirlpool before and he had suggested storm drainage as the source, but I remember thinking at the time, that it was from careless humans upstream.

From the variety of trash that I've removed from the creek, I'd say that my friend was right, it is most likely coming from litter on streets, sidewalks and parking lots miles away from the creek. In Springfield and many other towns, much of the trash that you see laying along the streets, curbs and sidewalks could eventually make it's way into the storm drainage system. Guess where they lead to in Springfield. If you guessed Buck Creek then you were right.

Before I received my Associate of Science degree in 1999, I chose Clark County Waste Management District for my work study (CO-OP). The job was marketing related, helping to communicate the mission via the internet, manuals and brochures. It wasn't the most glamorous choice, but it was rewarding to feel that I was helping to educate the public about how to work together to reduce pollution. With more than ten years of teaching experience since then, I feel obligated to share this story and hopefully increase awareness.

The only practical solution to help the wildlife that depends on these natural resources for survival, is to all work together. Since taking these photos it's kind of hard to ignore, so occasionally I clean up what I can, sometimes with the eager help from my young children, using a pool strainer that I carry in my car.

I'm telling this story to hopefully encourage anyone who reads this to take a few extra simple steps. Pick up trash along the curb around your property even though you didn't throw it there. Please don't throw trash, even cigarette butts out of your car window or over the side of your boat. If you go fishing, take a minute to make sure that you didn't leave any trash behind. Explain to others, where curb trash, especially around storm drains (gutters) ends up and encourage them to keep an eye out for it and help to minimize our impact.

Recycling Containers
Benefits - Recycling is very beneficial because it saves trees, reduces landfill burden, reduces oil consumption, reduces transportation and manufacturing pollution and reduces the need to mine and transport minerals like aluminum (bauxite) and tin.
Problems - In our community most of the recycling bins provided by refuse removal companies are small wide open containers. The wind and animals have a tendency to spread trash over a wide area.
Possible Solution - For current open containers, a fitted cover with an elastic strap (like shower cap or fitted sheet) could be a cheap simple solution. Rinse recyclables so animals aren't as likely to rummage your recycling bin. Load bin with heaviest stuff on top. Encourage your refuse hauler to provide containers with interlocking lid flaps or other solution to help minimize items leaving the container before they are picked up.

All images on this domain are copyright by Ken Pinkham and are intended for educational and personal use only. Please send email for any request.