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Malabata Wetlands
A weekly routine developed with classmate Bailey Flinn— picking up trash at the Malabata Wetlands, a landscape which is crucial for migratory birds crossing the Strait of Gibraltar and other creatures. Abdou Nakata Benattabou, founder of the Donkey Museum in Tangier introduced us to this space, emphasising how it lacks the attention it deserves as an essential ecosystem.
Picking up trash weekly and setting itself (full of beautiful green textures and creatures) became a grounding ritual for us as we oriented to the unfamiliar context of Morocco. With reflection, I see how the repetitive contact with the dirt, waste, slugs, allowed an intimacy with the place and it’s inhabitants to form.
This practice also became an unexpected social intervention. Over time, our presence (and hot pink dish gloves) led to spontaneous encounters with passersby—a camel handler, the wetland’s guardian, a man walking his dog “Cookie,” a woman collecting snails, etc. Some exchanges involved shared language, others did not, but our intention was clear and often met with gratitude. A key moment of visibility referred to as the “Walk of Shame” by professor John Reardon was when we transported the garbage bags two and a half blocks to the nearest dumpster.
Walking along the busy street became almost a performance, a demonstration of our practice in caring for the landscape. We hope this also prompted reflection around the dominant human position within ecosystems and the consequences our behavior.
Speculative Waste:
A Guide for Finding
Treasure within Trash
Through our collected experiences at the Malabata Wetlands, we found potential in this method for facilitating connection; between
the humans picking up the trash with each other, the landscape, and strangers passing by.
Feel free to download the guide yourself here :)
