They started quietly running back to camp, but within seconds, Uncle Weed was tackling them into the sand.
“You maniacs,” he said, out of breath, “You scared me half way to death.” He turned around and started galloping back to the field as if nothing had happened. Then he turned around and told them to wait up.
“See that sign over there,” he said, “That’s why we’re doing this. That sign announces the building of a smooth new road that will wind right through here. The weird thing is, a strong, healthy gravel road goes the exact same places, it may take an hour longer, but it works just fine.”
“Some people feel that the land belongs to them only or to one group of people just because they have a piece of paper stamped by someone,” continued Uncle weed, searching for the best words, “This is alright sometimes, you need some sense of order, but often, people try to find personal gain by irresponsibly manipulating, damaging, or destroying the land when its not necessary.”
“Like stinky factories with thick orange stuff coming from the smokestacks, making it hard to breathe?” asked Bob.
“Or buildings big hotels in the middle of national parks?” Asked Otto, “Or dumping dangerous trash in the ocean?”
“Exactly!” said Uncle Weed, “Sometimes you have to help the rocks, plants and lizards out a bit, give the land back the Mother Nature. A lot of great women and men have been fighting for the planet for years and we can’t let their efforts die.”
He picked up a discarded survey stick, looking it over, “This is just a stick right? Or is it? To me this represents the beginning of the end. Once the people in some office somewhere decide on a project, the surveyors are the first ones to come in to measure and indicate what goes where. Where to cut, where to dig, what to pave and so on. The sticks themselves are not bad, and the surveyors are mostly well-intentioned, hardworking folks who just want to work in nature.”
“So why do you pull them up then?” The boys asked still a bit confused.
“You know, its hard to say. Part of me knows the project will probably get done at some point anyhow, but I also believe delaying the project is important. Maybe for a day, maybe for years – I know other people spend time calling their elected representatives, protesting with signs, maybe even running for office, but those activities don’t suit my temperament, so I just do my part to slow down the wheels of progress to let the suits in the offices know I’m paying attention to their decisions, and well… nature has allies too.”