On Earth Day, I like to acknowledge my respect for our Earth by taking the family on a small outing. We each get a garbage bag, we go to a particular spot in our neighbourhood where a lot of trash accumulates, and we fill our bag. It's very simple, it feels good, it sets a nice example for our kids and for people who are walking and driving past and it is a relatively quick excursion.
We've been doing this for years - generally in the same spot - and we remember the boys being so young that we pulled them in the wagon, and then they had to walk back because the wagon was filled with garbage bags! This year I told them that they don't have to come if they don't want to. I realize that as they get older, this may be an un-cool activity or boring for them, and I don't want to impose my beliefs on them if they are countering my beliefs with negativity. Forcing them to participate would counteract the good of the event. However, both boys happily volunteered to come along! We each took our bag and set to it. The boys were very enthusiastic, and loved tangling through the underbrush to get a dirty bottle or chip bag. At the end of our excursion, we had four filled-up trash bags, the area looked quite pleasant, and Christopher proclaimed: "That was fun!" The boys got dirty and that always makes them happy.
While picking up trash, I noticed that the most prevalent pieces of trash were Tim Horton's containers and lids, water bottles, Dairy Queen/Slurpee cups and pop cans. This interests me, as I adopt the philosophy: What we do to ourselves, we do to the Earth. Does this mean that we can conclude that people who don't pay attention to the crud they put in their body (well, water and coffee are fine, but who chooses water or coffee to be healthy, then tosses the container in the bush while out for a 'healthy' walk?) are not concerned with how they treat the Earth. This seems logical, as it makes no sense for people who want to be healthy and put nutritious things into their body, and exercise their body to litter ... this would be counterintuitive.
Where then, does the change need to happen? Adults ... how you talk and behave and the attitudes you have are contagious. If you don't make an effort to use a re-usable coffee container, or drink water from the tap in a re-usable container, or choose not to drink pop and other sugary drinks or make home-cooked meals rather than consuming meals that come in throw-away containers, your children can't be expected to have a different mentality. Kids learn about keeping the Earth clean and recycling, but if no-one at home cares then kids will dismiss the importance of these lessons.
It's never to late to change your habits in very small ways ... choose not to drink pop or sugary drinks, choose a re-usable coffee mug, choose water from a tap (water in bottles is often less regulated than tap water). Committing to these small choices will have positive effects on the Earth, and can't help but translate into positive changes in your own life. Caring about the Earth equals caring about yourself, your family and your neighbours ... choose to care!
