A New Kind Of Trash Collector

For the past few years, my neighborhood has a hosted a Spring Clean-up day. We meet at a designated area where someone is armed and ready with coffee and donuts for the volunteers, because after all, everything is more fun when there’s food. Whoever comes works in small groups to pick up any trash or litter that’s in or around our neighborhood. It’s a wonderful idea and a great way to get the little ones involved in keeping our green earth clean.

For Connor Graflund however, a fifth-grader at , the wait was just too long to begin the clean up. He has been cleaning the local roads around our neighborhood and is amazed at how fast caps, wrappers, bottles, cups and cigarette butts seem to be found week after week.

His mom Adriana said, ”For the first time ever he REALLY noticed the trash on the side of the road while driving with his dad to a Boy Scout camping trip. Maybe it was because he didn’t have his Nintendo DS or his iTouch with him or maybe it was his recent review the Boy Scout “Outdoor Code” which essentially says you should take nothing and leave nothing when enjoying the outdoors. All I can say is that something in him just “clicked” on that car ride.”

Connor’s Scout troop also had planned a roadside cleanup on another local road that his troop had adopted. They filled several trash bags in such a short time that Adriana believes many of the boys truly realized that it didn’t take a lot of time or effort to make a BIG difference in our community.

Should all school kids partake in cleaning up in and around their school? Connor thinks so. He says, “Every day, one class at school could pick up some garbage and then the next day, another class would volunteer to help.”  Why not? He is keenly aware of all the grassy and wooded areas around his school that probably has lots of litter building up.

At his young age, Connor realizes the additional benefits of his trash collecting: he’s getting fresh air and feeling good about himself while doing something good.

Adriana shared the following anecdote and it serves as a perfect wrap-up.

“I asked him tonight when he first noticed the trash on the roadside on his way to his scouting trip if he knew that he could get a bag and go clean it up himself. He says that he did know that he could, but just never thought of doing it. I guess what he really needed was the suggestion and the permission to go out and make a difference.”

As always, email me with any news, topics or ideas that you want to read about. Remember, I’d like to be the first to know! I can be reached at laurenbgpatch@aol.com.