Note from Sweet Greens: The following eco-walking tips was submitted by Angie Lilly. Angie is a passionate photographer who loves nature and likes to show nature’s beauty by getting into the nitty-gritty details of the natural world. Her work includes macro shots that show nature up-close and personal. You can view her work in her Etsy shop: FotoMacro.
A couple of years ago, my partner and I came across a blog by Samuel Huber called Eco-Runner. Huber is granted the title of Eco-Running’s founder and Wikipedia defines Eco-Running as “the variation of recreational running in which the participant collects the litter that is found along the path traveled.” Isn’t that a wonderful new idea?
My partner and I are most definitely not runners, but we love to walk and hike locally in our neighborhood, town and parks. We decided to create a modified version of Eco-Running that we like to call Eco-Walking.
We started small, just in our neighborhood and we could not believe what we discovered. In our very first outing, we collected 33 recyclables, four 13 gallon trash bags of litter, and two abandoned shopping carts that we returned to a local store – all within one mile of our home. We were in shock! How could people do this to our little slice of the earth?
Over the course of the next five months, we continued to count the recyclables we collected and they totaled 395. Almost 400 pieces of litter that we recycled while cleaning up our city streets. At this point we figured we knew the statistics, would stop counting, and just do the work.
We have told friends and family about Eco-Walking and even my mother is doing it now on her daily walks. She does not have access to recycling in her area of West Virginia, but just getting the litter off the road and into the trash is better than nothing. It still helps the local wildlife, waterways and beautifies the area.
Besides being a wonderful hobby, Eco-walking is a great form of exercise and very life-fulfilling. Getting outside, while enjoying and helping nature is a wonderful feeling. It spurs you to move beyond your comfort zone and really get a good work out by getting in that ditch or reaching for that piece of trash that may be just out of reach. We love it and would encourage everyone who walks to give it a try. We have even been known to pick recyclables out of the trash cans at local parks and take them home to be recycled. Some may say that is going a bit far, but for us it’s just part of the game. It’s like a scavenger hunt – find the “treasures” and help save the planet a little bit at a time.
If you think Eco-walking is for you, and I hope I have inspired you to do so, there are a few tips to get you started:
#1: Wear Gloves
Remember to bring a pair of globes or use a grabbing tool because litter is dirty.
#2: Dress the Part
Wear good, solid, ankle supporting shoes – you will be climbing up and down hills and jumping into ditches.
#3: Stay Visible
Wear bright colors if you are traversing a busy roadway, you want to be easily seen.
#4: Pack your Supplies
Take a large reusable (washable) bag for the recyclables and disposable/compostable bags for the trash. It’s much easier to sort as you collect than to separate recyclables from the garbage at the end of your walk.
#5: Have Fun
Eco-walking is a hobby that almost anyone can enjoy, regardless of age. I hope you get out there! Take your kids, your parents, your friends, form a Eco-Walking search party and make it a game. Together we really can make a difference, even if its just one neighborhood at a time.
Do you practice Eco-Walking?
Will you join the walk?
