Take Care of Our Little One
Written By: Monica Miller, Maman on the Trail
“Out of all those millions and millions of planets floating around there in space, this is our planet, this is our little one, so we just got to be aware of it and take care of it.” – Paul McCartney
Let’s talk about this little planet of ours for a moment. You know that it is an unhealthy mess; you know that it is up to us to do something about it; heck, if you’re reading this, you are more than likely one of those people already happily doing something about it and I don’t need to preach to the choir. But, as the choir, it is your job to spread this message to the people around you. It is our job to take care of this planet and pass it on in good condition to the next generation. But we’re only a small army, and we need to get everyone on board.
Did you know that one of the easiest ways to motivate others to care about the planet is through personal narrative? Seriously, talk to someone about how important protecting our planet is to YOU, personally, and they will take it to heart. If you want to kick it up a notch, and you have a cute kid, bring them into the picture. Want an example?
Last week, I went to a local conservation area, where I hike at least once a week with a group of parents, and I picked up litter. It was just Huckleberry (my trail baby) and I, with a small garbage bag tied to his stroller, and a pair of gloves. Within 30 minutes I had picked up 100 pieces of litter and spoken to a dozen people, and at least a dozen more saw what I was doing. Without stopping my litter collecting, I chatted bystanders up about Huckleberry, about how much we enjoy spending time outside, about how important it is to me that my son grows up loving nature. I even threw in a few buzzwords like “nature deficit disorder” and “epidemic of inactivity”. I did not actually mention litter.
Did you catch all that? It only took 30 minutes of my time and there are now 100 fewer pieces of litter on the ground and 24 more people who care about our planet, hopefully enough to do something about it.
Whether or not you have trail babies of your own, there is plenty that you can do to care for our world. Your actions do not have to be grand gestures in front of crowds; in fact, it is the smaller, everyday gestures that we are most likely to make habits out of anyway. Pick up just one piece of litter each time you take a walk. Take only pictures and leave only footprints when you are out enjoying nature. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. You know the drill.
Thank you for your help in keeping this planet of ours happy and healthy for all of the trail babies that want to enjoy it!
Love, Maman on the Trail
Monica Miller is a new mom in Kingston, ON. While on maternity leave from teaching, she started writing a blog called “Maman on the Trail”. Her blog chronicles the adventures of herself, her husband, their new baby boy and their dog, on and off the hiking trail. Blog posts range from anecdotes to product reviews, tips & tricks to recipes. Visit Maman on the Trail on her blog to see the next adventure!
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Chuck (Wednesday, 08 June 2016 08:48)
Hope your example catches on - big time! Good for you to take the initiative. Soon little Huck can pitch in too!