I am not sure how, but I came across this blog by a guy named William and his girlfriend Kelsey. They enjoy being outdoors and decided when they went to a park, they would rate it for trash content. I found the idea interesting, as there is a park close to my house that I enjoy using. When I am out fishing or hiking, or even at the park, I occasionally pick up some trash and drop it in a trash can. Not always, because normally I am there for other reasons, but occasionally picking up trash is just something that happens.
A number of years ago, I was camping with friends in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The four of us had quite a party the first night, so there were beer cans and one whiskey bottle strewn around the campfire. Who shows up at the crack of dawn? No one else but a large group of Sierra Club members, perhaps thirty people. They were out for two day hike, and they were not impressed with our camp. If you ever want to know misery, try listening to a Sierra Club leader tell you about the mess your camp is in - on a few hours of sleep. Gosh it was fun, blah, blah blah, on a serious hangover…but they did clean up the cans for us, so it was not all bad. On the funny side, three of them stayed behind and begged a couple of cigarettes off one the guys.
That was my first introduction to picking up trash in public. Years later I was trout fishing at a little lake when a group of people came through picking up trash. They told me they were locals and try to clean up around their lake at least once a week, because some fishermen were not too careful, and they wanted to keep the shoreline pretty. I was not included in that group they said.
Back to the future, or almost; I was out walking yesterday and noticed a few aluminum cans in the park alongside the walking path. I thought I wished I had a bag so I could collect those pop cans. Then I remembered how I tell myself that i am going to actually show up with a bag one day and collect trash while I walk. That led to, ‘I wish I had a bag now, I would collect trash and the cans I have seen.’ As LOA would have it, within a hundred yards there was a plastic bag caught in a bush. Well, no excuse now, so I took it off the shrub and started picking up trash, and the few cans I found.
Only a few people were out walking, but I hope they realized what I was doing and it catches on. It really changed the monotony of just walking a mile loop, and now the area looks cleaner than it did before the bag showed up. Speaking of LOA and bags, by the time I completed the loop I found no less than three bags caught in shrubs. It was a nice feeling, doing something for the park that provides a place for me to go and walk, and if I want to, just sit on the grass and think.
Now the park looks cleaner, I feel better, and I did some bending and standing up that normally does not happen on a walks. I only found three cans, and by the time I was done they were mixed in with candy wrappers, empty plastic cups, broken glass, and other assorted nasties. I decided I was not going trash bag hunting through all that mess for my three cans, so they went into the trash can too.
On the bright side, at home when I took some trash out, there were five cans laying in the bottom of my trash can from a party a neighbor had a few days ago. LOA again, or just good fortune? At any rate, I felt vindicated over losing my cans with the trash from the park. Because of William and Kelsey’s blog, I will be out doing it again soon. Thanks!
Technorati Tags: walking, hiking, park, LOA, Sierra Club
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