My husband and I are newcomers to this wonderful area. We chose this part of the world to settle in as it is an environmental jewel among worn pebbles. We’ve looked forward to experiencing the internationally renowned Brant Festival and to the many other events for which this area is famous.
I am writing in response to two recent letters titled, Share the Beach (The News, March 15).
It might be a good idea to be clear on several words related to these two letters.
Share: to participate in, use, enjoy, or experience jointly or in turns.
Antonym/Opposite: selfish: thinking only of oneself, hold, keep.
Guy Monty has a passion for something more important than himself — a passion for the good of the geese, for the good of Oceanside, and for the good of the environment in which we all live.
The writers were confused about the difference between scientific endeavor and the term hobby.
Evidently, neither of the two writers know much about the Brant geese or why efforts are being made to allow them to continue to survive. From attending a recent Brant Festival program we learned that on the one hand, humans of recent history have not shared well with the Brant — taking them (killed by the barge loads in the early years until there weren’t enough left to bother) and from them wantonly over the years (disturbing the few unique places available to them for survival feeding). On the other hand, Oceanside derives a good chunk of money directly due to their need to come to our beaches.
Two more terms come to mind pertinent to this discussion:
Ignorance: unintelligence, inexperience.
Antonym/opposite: competence, education, experience, intelligence, knowledge, wisdom.
I believe there are far more people willing to use their heads and hearts to understand and share the beach for a couple of months to meet the survival needs of Brant geese.
Lynne Brookes
Errington