Esme Gordon-Craig always considered herself a good person and a good citizen, believing that refraining from harming the world—such as never littering—was sufficient. But in the summer of 2025, after moving home to Staffordshire following graduation, her understanding of what it means to be good changed dramatically.
Earlier this year, while walking her dog along a canal, she spotted her 83-year-old grandfather, 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 nearly an hour each day litter picking—not just casually, but with extreme dedication.
A Grandfather's Extreme Dedication
Nicholas, despite his age, risks his life for the sake of cleaning the area. He clambers into bogs to retrieve empty Pot Noodle packets, climbs trees to collect dog poo bags left dangling in mid-air, and scavenges through thorns for empty beer cans. He is even prepared to fall into the canal to remove large logs that might damage passing boats. His efforts are both anxiety-inducing and heartwarming.
Esme had never participated in litter picking beyond occasional school sessions forced for disciplinary reasons. She never littered but never considered cleaning up others' rubbish either. However, watching her grandpa's determination made it impossible not to get involved.
A New Daily Routine
Soon, Esme adopted an almost daily routine: walking the dog with a good podcast, then halfway through, finding herself with a litter picker, directed by her grandpa to fetch whatever the public had discarded. The activities 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.
She now practises her grandpa's teachings even when not on excursions. She picks up stray cans or takeaway cups and disposes of them properly. Her experience has revolutionised her shopping and eating habits, from coffee cups to fast fashion, pursuing more sustainable methods.
Redefining Good Citizenship
Esme has realised that being a good citizen requires more than holding correct views on international events or simply avoiding being bad. It means going out of your way to be helpful and making a positive contribution to society. It's about making a practical effort to effect change, even on a small scale, rather than just aligning with grand worldviews.
She had forgotten this in a culture where following activist Instagram accounts and reposting messages of love and hope feel sufficient to cement moral status. While spreading positivity online has some value, it is not the only thing we can and should do to make a difference.
A Ripple Effect in the Community
This realisation has sparked a wonderful ripple effect in Esme's life. She 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 hometown even more and left her eager to learn about her grandpa's other potential extreme hobbies.
