Our History

The Chirping Bird Society History

Alan Paton said in his book, Cry, the Beloved Country that if one acts in a way that hurts someone or something, but does not realize that one is being hurtful, then the action may be forgivable. But if one knows that their actions are imposing harm or damage on someone or something, then the action is unforgivable.

Mr. Paton went on to say that if one is aware of the infliction of damage to a person or thing, then one has a moral obligation to do something about it.

During the apartheid era in South Africa, a white lady Member of Parliament (MP) called Helen Suzman, knew in her heart that apartheid was wrong. She therefore became an anti-apartheid activist, who stood up to all the other MPs about the evils of apartheid. She was the only MP who ever visited Nelson Mandela, the eventful Nobel Prize winning  leader of the anti-apartheid movement, who was imprisoned on Robbin Island for 27 years. Helen talked so much about the evils of apartheid, she was dubbed the ‘chirping bird.’

Recently, I read about a lady called Daniella Russo, an anti- disposable plastic activist, and Executive Director of the Plastic Pollution Coalition. She attended the 5th Marine Debris Conference held in Honolulu in March 2011, which for the first time had accepted sponsorship support from Coca Cola and the American Chemical Council, both of whose products are a major source of plastic pollution in our world.  While other marine attendees at the conference were intimidated by the presence of these big corporations, referring to the disaster of plastic trash in the oceans as “marine debris”, Daniella called it for what it is---plastic pollution!

I emailed Daniella congratulating her on her courage and explaining that she reminded me of Helen Suzman. To me, Daniella is the ‘chirping bird’ of plastic pollution.

We need more chirping birds! We need more chirping birds to chirp out about the wrong doings in this world, one of which is the inadvertent cruelty to birds and animals caused by disposable plastic.

Any man, woman or child can be a chirping bird.

It is time for chirping birds to chirp out, and even squawk, about the dangers of plastic. Polluting our environment and killing innocent creatures with disposable plastic litter is wrong.  

To become a chirping bird, all one has to do is pledge to oneself to refuse to use all disposable plastic items, and to continuously ‘chirp’ about the devastating effects of disposable plastic upon the environment. You can chirp to friends, to family, and to anyone who may listen.

You can join Daniella’s  group at  The Plastic Pollution Coalition to keep updated on new ideas, and as our flock of chirping birds increases in number, we can help undo the wrongs of disposable plastic. 

 Our motto: Birds of a feather flock together!

You can also write to us and tell us your Chirping Bird story when you took a stand on something that you believed to be wrong. The story does not have to be about plastic; it can be about any issue or event that triggered you to chirp.

And if you need inspiration, just remember the inspiring words of Helen Keller:

“I am only one but still I am one,

I cannot do everything, but still I can do something,

And because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

-- Goffinet