'Litter Bugs' and 'Captain Planets'
I've always been a bit intense about litter. My husband occasionally calls me "Captain Planet".
Now that we live in a beach community and so close to the ocean, I am even more intense. When I see litter on the ground, it stirs all kinds of annoyed emotions! If I walk past litter that I have spotted, I will often turn the pram around to pick it up just so I can continue my day with a clear litter conscience.
Ever since Jarome was little, I would verbalise how disrespectful litter is to our living spaces and the creatures we share our living spaces with. I guess you could say I was slightly brainwashing my child to be just as anti-litter as I am.
"Ewww yucky son look at that!! Some one has dropped their rubbish!" followed by "where do we put our rubbish?! In...the...bin!" It didn't take him long to begin pointing out bits of rubbish on our walks. When we are out and about and Jarome has rubbish, he passes it to me or takes it to the bin himself.
Otis, at eighteen months old, will pick up items and bring them to me so I can put them in the bin.
I simply don't understand why;
1) people intentionally drop litter onto the ground
2) put rubbish into bins that are already so full that the rubbish is obviously going to fall out
3) don't clean away their spaces properly
This weekend we have been to one beach and three parks. It is over whelming the number of plasters, cigarette butts, chip packets, lolly wrappers, water bottle lids, confetti, party poppers, straws and balloon rubbish there was in the parks and at the beach.
We live in such a wonderful space. The Gold Coast is simply stunning. Often there are council members out and about collecting rubbish and emptying the public bins, which is amazing. However, it saddens me that so many parents do not teach their children to be conscious of their litter and how many adults do not role model the importance of putting litter in the bin.
A lot of the rubbish that we saw over the weekend was the left overs from children birthday parties. Yes, balloons and confetti are great fun, but the litter they create has a huge impact on wild life who mistake these as food. Small packets of food are brilliant for portioned snacks while out and about but we need to teach our children to not leave the wrappers on the ground or stuffed into the slates in park benches. On two occasions, Otis picked up an empty juice box that had been tossed to the ground, hopefully bringing them to his own mouth for a drink! The ground is not for litter.
Anything other than the bin (either the park bin or taken home for the bin) should not be acceptable. If you wouldn't allow it to be left on the floor of your home, why would it be alright to think that is acceptable to leave on the ground of a park or beach, or anywhere else for that matter.
The way we, as adults, use our living spaces and treat our environment, sets the expectations and boundaries for our children. People flicking their used cigarette butts out of the car window, people eating drive through and leaving the rubbish outside of the car. It is all watched. Every year the Gold Coast Marathon runs through the stunning beach side Hedges Avenue. In the wake of this event, it is shocking to see the number of energy gel pouches that get used and tossed to the ground. Daily living choices and the aftermath of events and celebrations in shared living spaces all contribute to the litter that impacts on our community. It should not be normal for people to happily dispose of litter anywhere else but the bin. As a community, we should take pride in all spaces, not just the space that's behind our fences, for ourselves as adults, but also for our children. The children who are always watching.
Our generation is very short sighted. This is reflected in many cultural norms, as well as our ability to accept littering.
We need to push for a shift in our perspective, towards taking greater care for our wider community. We need to begin to think about the impact that our lifestyles will have for future generations. Our personal comforts, need for convenience and general nonchalance when considering our environment is currently impacting on our world and will continue to negatively impact on our world. The LEAST we can do, is tidy up after our selves and put our rubbish in the bin.
Are you a 'Litter Bug' or a 'Captain Planet'?
What do you expect from your children?
How do you communicate the importance of being considerate for the environment and the importance of not littering?
These photos show my boys enjoying the shared spaces of the Gold Coast.
Finally, in the words of Kimberly Crisp; "Are you worthy of imitation?"
Now that we live in a beach community and so close to the ocean, I am even more intense. When I see litter on the ground, it stirs all kinds of annoyed emotions! If I walk past litter that I have spotted, I will often turn the pram around to pick it up just so I can continue my day with a clear litter conscience.
Ever since Jarome was little, I would verbalise how disrespectful litter is to our living spaces and the creatures we share our living spaces with. I guess you could say I was slightly brainwashing my child to be just as anti-litter as I am.
"Ewww yucky son look at that!! Some one has dropped their rubbish!" followed by "where do we put our rubbish?! In...the...bin!" It didn't take him long to begin pointing out bits of rubbish on our walks. When we are out and about and Jarome has rubbish, he passes it to me or takes it to the bin himself.
Otis, at eighteen months old, will pick up items and bring them to me so I can put them in the bin.
I simply don't understand why;
1) people intentionally drop litter onto the ground
2) put rubbish into bins that are already so full that the rubbish is obviously going to fall out
3) don't clean away their spaces properly
This weekend we have been to one beach and three parks. It is over whelming the number of plasters, cigarette butts, chip packets, lolly wrappers, water bottle lids, confetti, party poppers, straws and balloon rubbish there was in the parks and at the beach.
We live in such a wonderful space. The Gold Coast is simply stunning. Often there are council members out and about collecting rubbish and emptying the public bins, which is amazing. However, it saddens me that so many parents do not teach their children to be conscious of their litter and how many adults do not role model the importance of putting litter in the bin.
A lot of the rubbish that we saw over the weekend was the left overs from children birthday parties. Yes, balloons and confetti are great fun, but the litter they create has a huge impact on wild life who mistake these as food. Small packets of food are brilliant for portioned snacks while out and about but we need to teach our children to not leave the wrappers on the ground or stuffed into the slates in park benches. On two occasions, Otis picked up an empty juice box that had been tossed to the ground, hopefully bringing them to his own mouth for a drink! The ground is not for litter.
Anything other than the bin (either the park bin or taken home for the bin) should not be acceptable. If you wouldn't allow it to be left on the floor of your home, why would it be alright to think that is acceptable to leave on the ground of a park or beach, or anywhere else for that matter.
The way we, as adults, use our living spaces and treat our environment, sets the expectations and boundaries for our children. People flicking their used cigarette butts out of the car window, people eating drive through and leaving the rubbish outside of the car. It is all watched. Every year the Gold Coast Marathon runs through the stunning beach side Hedges Avenue. In the wake of this event, it is shocking to see the number of energy gel pouches that get used and tossed to the ground. Daily living choices and the aftermath of events and celebrations in shared living spaces all contribute to the litter that impacts on our community. It should not be normal for people to happily dispose of litter anywhere else but the bin. As a community, we should take pride in all spaces, not just the space that's behind our fences, for ourselves as adults, but also for our children. The children who are always watching.
Our generation is very short sighted. This is reflected in many cultural norms, as well as our ability to accept littering.
We need to push for a shift in our perspective, towards taking greater care for our wider community. We need to begin to think about the impact that our lifestyles will have for future generations. Our personal comforts, need for convenience and general nonchalance when considering our environment is currently impacting on our world and will continue to negatively impact on our world. The LEAST we can do, is tidy up after our selves and put our rubbish in the bin.
Are you a 'Litter Bug' or a 'Captain Planet'?
What do you expect from your children?
How do you communicate the importance of being considerate for the environment and the importance of not littering?
These photos show my boys enjoying the shared spaces of the Gold Coast.
Finally, in the words of Kimberly Crisp; "Are you worthy of imitation?"
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