How I Got Concerned & Trash Pick Up Adventures.

In this second blog, I wanted to mention how I got interested in conserving resources. Years ago, in about my second year at Thomas Nelson Community College, I took a biology class with a professor who was a real promoter of “saving the environment” issues. I still recall some of his ideas that were very radical to me. He was opposed to the idea of owning much in the way of land, unless one had a definite purpose for the land (such as farming). Land should be shared by the masses in his opinion. He and his wife owned a garden type home; he could cut his yard with a Weed Eater. They decided not to have children since they thought there were too many people in the world already. I don’t agree with the logic about not having children, but it did make me think about our overpopulation problems on earth. His enthusiasm about saving resources and making our planet a better place to live started my concern and led me toward being a good steward on this planet. If you are a teacher, or know one, who is teaching about conservation, you might be planting seeds that grow. The unconcerned students may be changed, like I was after being influenced by this professor.

After discussing what led me to the point of writing the blog, I’ll mention two days of picking up trash in the last few weeks and some points of interest.

Day one:

At a clean up the lake near my home sponsored by the “Keep America Beautiful” group. I picked up three thirty gallon bags of trash. It was easy to find the trash since it appeared that some people were dropping their household trash in areas where there were cactus plants. (I live in an area where cactus plants grow not far from the lake.) I learned a lesson about the plants: the thorns will enter your skin even if the legs stepping next to the plant are covered with jeans. And, they sting for a day or so.  I’ll have to admit to longing to sit down and weep when I saw the mess left behind by uncaring people. Instead of giving in to emotion, I picked it up. This area looked better with just a few hours of about 30 people working together, picking up garbage left by others.

About a week later:

I picked up trash along my normal route next to my home. I live in a rural area where there are no sidewalks and no city teams to clean the streets. Two things caught my attention as I walked along with my grab stick and trash bag. (1) My neighbor, who I’ve never met & normally throws out his–or her?–Keystone beer cans, has stopped littering the street with them. Hopefully, he’s now an Alcoholics Anonymous success story. And, (2) I went by a roadkill skunk that still gave off his/her distinct odor.  Knowing how skunk spray clings to a body–when I was growing up, the family dog met up with a skunk now and then–I hoped this little creature was really dead as I passed it on the other side of the street. Since I wasn’t sprayed, it was.
Next week, I hope to have a new blog ready midweek.