Making More out of Lazy Leisure Days
When the sun is out the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time cooking a meal and when vacationing, the lure to purchase instant and snack foods is strong. Unfortunately, these convenience foods come with excess packaging. As we can see when we come across trash in the wilderness, snack wrappers and beverage containers are the most common litter we find. It is quite interesting that numerous studies prove tourists return to an area primarily for its cleanliness and greenery. In this era where the economy has come to rely more on tourism, cleaning up is truly a benefit for any community.
When leisurely paddling the canoe and watching the water, one can often see the muddy bottom, where it is easy to spot larger debris. Put on a mask and snorkel to discover some amazing finds. One of the first times we did this, we found an expensive diving mask in about 30 feet of water - enough incentive to continue this practice! We have also found antique bottles, jewelry, fishing lures and reels, rusting nails, swimming flippers, numerous toys and thousands of returnable cans and bottles. We clean up what we can for reuse or donation to thrift stores and the rest is sorted for recycling, returning or the trash bin.
It feels very good to clear up a beach with shards of broken glass hiding from view where an unwary toe could be damaged. It does not, however, feel as good to find a large fishhook by embedding it in the bottom of your foot (yes, this has happened). Imagine an innocent child stepping on that hook instead of you and decide if it is worth taking the time for activities like this.
Wildlife benefits too, when garbage is removed – even the smallest shard of glass can ignite a wildfire, while bits of polystyrene foam and plastic can choke the life out of a hungry animal. After big storms we find the beaches are full of floating debris that has washed up and have come away with bags full of trash from just an hour of strolling.
When you take a bit of time to clean up some trash not only do you have a better trail or beach to come back to, you have helped to make it safer and more pristine for everyone else.
