When listening to Razvan Ionescu explain his philosophical views and in real life, his absolute distaste and lack of tolerance of litter and garbage in all forms becomes obvious.
Now a plan, simple to grasp because it’s one of very few things these days everyone can agree on, he says, in place he poses a simple truth in the form of a question.
“Really who likes garbage?” knowing full well the answer to the rhetorical question, before it even lands.
Last month on one of those beautifully brilliant days mother nature bestowed on Lower Bucks County, Ionescu, and a group of about 15 volunteers spent two hours removing garbage from Levittown Lake.
One Beautiful Planet, the organization to which Ionescu has given oxygen, and life too with his merry bunch of garbage haters voluntarily went about the effort, with zero fanfare or public acknowledgement. A single post to Reddit is what gave the cleanup away, and it’s not the first one in Bucks County or the region. The ground gaining is organic, in that’s how it came to be when a group of 15 came together that day in Levittown. The plans for the lake cleanup even founds its way Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie’s ears because he helped get rid of some of the garbage too.
The guiding spirit of the work can be found at top of the OBP website and socials: We aim to inspire, perform, and support environmental restoration efforts. Our primary goals are making a positive impact on our surroundings through volunteer activities and connecting individuals who share a passion for immediate and concrete change.
Razvan grew up in Bucharest, Romania and spent summers hiking in the Carpathian Mountains, and on beaches along the Black Sea Coast and the efforts are born out of his desire to reconnect with his love of nature, take concrete environmental action, share and relearn forgotten lessons, maintain accountability, and encourage participation along the way. The vision is to build a source of knowledge and inspiration to toward a cleaner, healthier planet.
And of course rid the area of trash,
Ionescu says the majority of cleanups already completed were in the Greater Philadelphia area, such as Bucks County, Montgomery County, or downtown Philly. He says the inspiration for trash ridding activities come from two sources; his three daughters and want to a leave spaces in better condition than he found them.
Organizations such as Bucks Beautiful, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, Keep Virginia Cozy, have helped inform and narrow the focus of the group’s activities with such a great response, he says the most likely natural step is to formalize the effort by filing for non-profit status in order to fund trash removal work. Ionescu wryly points out the prohibitive costs of getting rid of trash.
Thankfully, he said, with the Levittown project, Bucks County, Waste Management, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Barbera Jeeps in Philadelphia, all assisted to make the lake cleanup come to fruition.
The mark of any strong community is how much we care about each other, and where we live. Too many people think that they don’t have the time or energy to do anything that will have an impact, but in reality any amount of time you can give will make a difference. Last month’s Levittown Lake cleanup which was organized by One Beautiful Planet is a great example of how a small group of people, donating a small amount of time on a singular project can have an impact,“ Harvie said of the work done by the group.
Credit One Beautiful Planet
Asked about the next project, Ionescu said he didn’t know yet, but is open to suggestions, and hopefully bringing on some more volunteers.
Shouldn’t be too hard, who likes garbage all over there community or parks, right?
For more information about One Beautiful Planet please click here
Credit One Beautiful Planet