Have you ever thought to yourself, what a difference it would make, if everyone picked up just one piece of litter along our trails? Imagine it’s the weekend and you are headed out for your favorite walk or run along the miles of trails we have here on Daniel Island. You begin your walk with nature and you begin to take in the beauty around you and hopefully leave your worries from the outside world behind. You find yourself feeling more relaxed with each step you take as you immerse yourself into the great outdoors. This happens daily on our beautiful island and we are proud as a community of the trails that we have to enjoy. But sometimes during the tranquility of our outing, we are greeted with the ugly and unhealthy vision of trash left behind by someone less considerate or possibly blown in from another outside source. While we can’t turn the clock backwards and pretend the trash isn’t there, we can take a simple step and pick up one or more pieces of litter on our trails. You might say to yourself, “why pick up trash”, “there’s always going to be garbage, right”, “what difference does it make”? Below are just 4 out of the many reasons that picking up trash makes a huge difference:
Preserve Nature
Utilizing our trails is a privilege and we should all pitch in and take responsibility and clean up after ourselves. If we truly love the natural beauty and want to have continued access to these beautiful trails we walk, and run on, we need to take care of them. If you drop something, stop and pick it up. Be responsible for yourself and your family and hold each individual accountable, kids too. If you see that a member of your family or group has accidentally dropped something, tell them – or just pick it up yourself. Keep the natural environment beautiful.
Be the Change You Wish to See in the World
Would you want to walk on a trail filled with empty water bottles and crumpled pieces of trash? Be the change you wish to see in the world and set the example for your children, fellow residents, or even those you may not know but may encounter during your outings and lead by example and pick up any pieces of trash you see. Make your travel route look like nobody was ever there and leave it in its original condition.
Save the Animals
Birds, mammals, and reptiles can be injured or even killed by the trash we leave behind on the trails. Because some types of litter do not readily disintegrate, it can remain in the environment as a threat for decades. Litter threatens wildlife in a number of ways. Broken glass can cut the feet of animals and present a hazard to various smaller animals. Lizards often crawl inside bottles or cans to bask in the warm interior, to seek protection, or in search of food; but they may find it difficult to squeeze out again or can die from overheating. Your food scraps aren’t helping wildlife either. Deer, for instance, love breads and sweets. These purified grain products may form gummy masses in the stomachs of ruminants and interfere with digestion. What’s more, the wild animals will become accustomed to free handouts and be unprepared to hunt for themselves when their human food source is cut out.
Teach Your Children Valuable Lessons About Environmental Stewardship
There is nothing more disheartening than coming across deliberate litter – meaning trash that people leave in the wilderness with no intention of removing it. We’ve all come across it, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, paper, cigarette butts, beer bottles, clothing, baby diapers, and a very common one – dog poop bags – just to name a few. Instead of getting angry when you encounter this type of disrespect, try looking at it from a positive angle. This is an opportunity to teach the future generation about environmental stewardship as you pick up and discard garbage left behind together. Not only will your kids learn how to respect nature, it can also be an opportunity to teach your children practical life skills.
