Green Police

Yesterday I was at the third of five Save the World Club training days in preparation for the Glastonbury Festival 2010. Every year I take around 175 mainly young people, to the festival as walkabout and ecological enforcers, famous now as "The Green Police".

Newcomers, especially those who have never been to a festival before, have to mentally and physically prepare themselves for the sensory overload that at this, the biggest cultural music festival in the world. It is not only a five day twenty four hour festival with 50,000 staff and volunteers and another 175,000 members of the public. The festival represents a cultural spectacle of mind blowing significance. For 40 years, the event has overshadowed all others for millions of free thinking visitors.

The young at heart and youth present however need to be reminded of the rules of the festival, especially regarding ecological etiquette so to speak.

Green Police have the right to perform a "citizens arrest" on any person caught peeing and especially peeing in the river. The Environment Agency test the water every hour so great is the risk to the river system. Green Police are on hand to run to any area deemed at risk while the festival is on.

We also manage the litter education which is a lot harder. The aim for the past few years is to educate people about not dropping litter, but especially cigarette butts. The butts are toxic, each one contaminating 8 litres of water. Every single one has to get picked up by the litter pickers otherwise they get eaten by the cows.

One tiny action like urinating or dropping a tiny butt, has a big effect on the site farm and surrounding countryside. It reminds me how fragile and interconnected everything really is.

I consider it a successful festival if the 170 or so volunteers wake up a little themselves as to the mess and damage that we cause around us on a daily basis. Most ordinary people aren't bothered, but the Green Police are in a unique position to observe human sloppyness and to try and change the hearts and minds of other young people in the process.

June is always an interesting month!