Happy Earth Day

So this day went by uneventful. No rallies, or big projects for school. Maybe this weekend we can do a project similar to last year. The kindergarten Paige was in was on a farm and very earth friendly. It was one of the things I really loved the about the school. They hiked, and cleaned up litter and really made the kids aware of the environment and how to be responsible about it. While driving through Nashua in April last year Paige kept commenting on how dirty the roads were and how we should stop to clean them up. It's everyone's responsibility. Well great, I thought, but not near the roads-too dangerous.
So one nice Saturday morning I asked her if she wanted to spend an hour picking up trash at the local hiking trail that leads to her school. It was a warm sunny day, and the trail is about 2 miles from the house. Easy, right? So we get our trash bags and our gardening gloves and I head for the car.

Paige-"Mom, we can't drive there, we have to walk"
Mom-"But the trail is 2 miles away honey and there aren't any sidewalks"
Paige-"But driving isn't good for the environment. If we are going to help the earth we have to WALK."
Mom-"OK, I'm all for helping the Earth but we are driving to the trails"
Paige-"No. We have to walk."
Mom-"OK, plan B. How about we clean up around the school behind the house, since you'll be in first grade there next year. That way we can walk."

Well that solved that dilemma. As we are walking to the school I am envisioning a 16-year old Paige in dreadlocks with 3-inch long leg hair dressed all bohemian-like,giving up dance for yoga. I am all for environmentalism but you have to draw the line somewhere.

So we walk through the back of the school and the trash is pretty much everywhere. Clearly, the school did not organize any clean up for Earth Day. We picked up soda cans and papers. She was so happy to be doing something good for the Earth, and we were having a good time. Then we got to the front of the school, and it happened.
She ran over to me with more garbage. Thank god we had gloves on. Her garbage? An open condom box. Yep. In the woods by the elementary school. So we moved forward a bit and it happened again. This time it was an open wrapper. Just a wrapper. Good thing. I would have sterilized her body in a hot shower for 3 hours if it was any more than that.
So I see this go into the bag I am holding and confidently claim that we did our share. The bag is full. Time to go home.
So we went home. She skipped the whole way. We SCRUBBED our hands and washed our gloves. When I told the story to my friend, her husband replied "That is why you leave the trash alone!"
So this year we haven't talked about it much. I think it's a good exercise but clearly you have to be careful. Her public school is definitely different. I was in art today and the amount of paper that went into the trash can was obscene. I thought at least today, all of it should have been in the recycle bin. The bin is in the room, very convenient, but was empty. I think we'll celebrate this year by going to the movies to watch Disney's Earth. Not quite the same but awareness is a start!
So try to do one thing different starting today. Make sure you turn the lights off. Reuse that plastic bag for something else. Buy a cloth shopping bag. Big changes start with small steps. But only if everyone pitches in.
Kristin