Okay, we’re all busy, but we can still do something worthwhile—make that two things worthwhile. My multi-tasking of choice has always been to combine a good aerobic walk with something else, whether meaningful conversations with my son or spouse or a good friend, practicing a speech, brainstorming a new article, or, in some cases, picking up trash.
We spend five months a year in the pristine high plains of the Colorado Rockies. Semi-pristine would be more accurate, because where there are people, there is trash. Even here where people live for the majestic mountains and fields of wildflowers, there are idiots who think their little bits of trash won’t hurt anything, or probably don’t think at all.
I have a friend who is like-minded and happens to raise llamas. So our multi-tasking consists of going on long walks with pack llamas outfitted with saddlebags. They get training in packing and we have someone to carry the trash we pick up because there is always too much to carry. Two days in a row, we returned with four saddlebags stuffed with ten bags of trash, which we then sorted into recyclables and trash-trash. Climbing in and out of gullies, along with all the reaching, gave us a great workout, and our “neighborhood” looks a lot better.
In the interest of making this translatable into something you might like to do, we’ll subtract the llamas. When you go out for a walk, which you should do often, take used bags with you and pick up the trash. Everywhere has it. Nobody likes to look at it. Since I’m the plastic bag lady, I snag plastic bag litter and then use it to hold other trash I find. Trash is trash. But don’t count on finding bags. Take some with you. Then remember to recycle as much as possible so we can minimize the impact on landfills. We’re out walking anyway. Let’s include the planet in our outings.
We spend five months a year in the pristine high plains of the Colorado Rockies. Semi-pristine would be more accurate, because where there are people, there is trash. Even here where people live for the majestic mountains and fields of wildflowers, there are idiots who think their little bits of trash won’t hurt anything, or probably don’t think at all.
I have a friend who is like-minded and happens to raise llamas. So our multi-tasking consists of going on long walks with pack llamas outfitted with saddlebags. They get training in packing and we have someone to carry the trash we pick up because there is always too much to carry. Two days in a row, we returned with four saddlebags stuffed with ten bags of trash, which we then sorted into recyclables and trash-trash. Climbing in and out of gullies, along with all the reaching, gave us a great workout, and our “neighborhood” looks a lot better.
In the interest of making this translatable into something you might like to do, we’ll subtract the llamas. When you go out for a walk, which you should do often, take used bags with you and pick up the trash. Everywhere has it. Nobody likes to look at it. Since I’m the plastic bag lady, I snag plastic bag litter and then use it to hold other trash I find. Trash is trash. But don’t count on finding bags. Take some with you. Then remember to recycle as much as possible so we can minimize the impact on landfills. We’re out walking anyway. Let’s include the planet in our outings.
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